


Mechadryads and Crystals

by thepheonixqueen



Series: Transformers Myth and legends [2]
Category: Transformers
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-06
Updated: 2014-07-11
Packaged: 2018-01-03 16:06:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 67,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1072451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thepheonixqueen/pseuds/thepheonixqueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU Fic. Deep in an enchanted forest dwell beings and creatures that most mechs think are nothing more than myths, sparkling tales and nothing more. Several mechs are about to learn just how wrong they are.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A strange Beginning

Kup had lived within the great forest for many vorns. Well, on the edge of the forest. Only fools and the insanely brave would live within the great forest itself. Many dangers filled the dark shadows that lay beneath the great crystal tree branches. Several wild herds of sleipneir roamed free as well as whispered rumors of micro-scraplet swarms that would strip a mech to nothing in a breem. The worst peril of the forest however were the crystal trees themselves, or one type of tree anyway. The feared carnivorious trees that lured bots in with their sweet smelling fruit and then drained them of their fluids, their rusty frames drawn deep by the tree roots to fertilize the trees to larger growth.

Many mechs thought Kup to be a fool, since his job required him to enter the forest every sol but no bot had said that being a woodcutter would be easy. The forest held few surprises for Kup anymore, he had walked its twisted paths for so long and he had learned how to avoid many of the dangers. He knew where the spark-ghosts haunted the places mechs had fallen; where the vengeful water spirits waited in certain solvent ponds and even how to avoid the wailing cries of the Mourner.

Kup had become friendly-like with the mischevious Good Neighbors as well and aside from small tricks and pranks, they left him be and so did all those who owed allegience to their court. There were few things he could not handle at his point. It was just his luck he ran into one such danger that fateful sol.

Kup strode into the forest, his trusty axe sharp and ready on his shoulder as he took his familiar path through the shadowy depths. He was having to go further and further into the great forest to find tree suitable for him to chop down. He hated the new laws that stipulated what tree could be cut down. No tree that was smaller than four decavorns growth or larger than a centivorns. That was a narrow range.

 Oh well. Slaggin' councilmechs.

 He had been forced to go into a new part of the forest, deeper than he had ever gone before. In fact, possibly deeper than any mech had gone before since the path had faded away a while back and now he was forced to slog through the undergrowth of crystals and mechano-grasses. Kup looked around, assessing each tree he passed to see if it fit the narrow range he was allowed to harvest. 

 He passed a few that were too young and many many that were too old and finally he saw one that fit what he was looking for. There in a small clearing ahead, bathed in sunlight, were three trees. Or maybe one tree, since the three trunks seemed to join together at the roots.

 Heading over to the clearing, Kup walked around the tree, having to duck under several thick vines as he did so, before deciding that the tree was perfect. Hefting his axe off of his shoulder, Kup drew it back and swung it forward where it buried itself deep into one of the trunks.

 Big mistake.

The trunks of the tree began to move and the thick vines wrapped around Kup and hoisted him into the air. As Kup thrashed in the vines grip, three mechs emerged from the tree, one from each trunk.

"What the frag do you think you are doing?!" One of the mechs said pointing a finger at Kup angrily as the second mech helped support the third that appeared to be leaking energon.

The first mech turned to the trunk that still had his axe buried in it and pulled it out.

"So, you came here to try and kill us? Was that your plan?"

Kup tried to protest but a vine wrapped around his helm and covered his mouth before he found himself flipped and dangling upside down before the angry mech.

"Spectro, help Spyglass over here. He needs to feed to help fix the damage this oaf caused."

Feed?!

The injured mech was guided over to where Kup was thrashing in renewed fear and the angry mech held Kup still, letting the injured mech bare fanged dente and bite down onto Kup's neck and the fuel lines there.

As Kup watched, the gash on the mech's chest began to seal itself as the mech drank his fluids. As soon as the injury closed, the angry mech gestured for the mech to let go, but he did not. He continued to drink, making Kup get dizzy with fuel loss.

The other two mechs managed to separate the mech from Kup's fuel lines after a moment and that was the last thing Kup saw before he passed out.

\----------------------------------

Reflector was very unhappy. Unhappy and irritated.

Some aft had come along and tried to chop down their tree, had damaged Spyglass and now Spyglass had had to be forced to stop feeding. That had never happened before.

Viewfinder turned back to the intruder, confident that Spectro would be able to control Spyglass. He drew a finger from the slightly leaking fuel lines that had begun to seal themselves. It looked like regular mechfluid. It even smelled like regular mechfluid. However as soon as he put his finger in his mouth, he moaned. No mech had ever tasted like this before.

He drew away from the bound mech before he could try to bite him and draw more of that wonderful fluid from his lines.

 Viewfinder was not one to ignore a sign from Primus. He would have this mech. /They// would have this mech. Primus himself had sent them the perfect mech for them to bond to.

 Reflector eased their future mate to the soft mechano-grasses that surrounded his tree and laid him on the soft ground closest to their tree.

"Viewfinder?"

"He has the sweetest taste I have experienced, Spectro. Primus has sent us our mate!"

Spectro looked at Viewfinder aghast, "Him?! He tried to chop us down! He can't be our mate."

Viewfinder swipped a finger through the residual mechfluids on their mates neck and shoved it into Spectro's mouth. "See?"

Spectro's optics dimmed and as soon as Viewfinder removed his finger said, "Okay, he /is// our mate. How do we convince him of this?"

Hmm...that would take some planning.

=============================================

Kup woke up with an aching head and a low fuel warning.

He looked around and saw he was lying under a tree.

Oh scrap! He remembered where he was now.

Jumping up, Kup scrambled away from the carnivorous tree and its mech eating dryads. He looked around and his axe was no where to be found. Scrap. He needed that. Axes that were strong enough to chop down trees were expensive and he could not afford to buy another one. He looked around and saw a vine on the tree twitch and a flash of metal revealed where the axe had gone.

Up in the tree.

Double scrap.

"Hey! Give meh back mah axe and I'll go! I'll stay far away from ya, I swear!"

The angry dryad emerged from the trunk it seemed to live in, "No."

Kup paused at the simple 'no', "Give it back!"

The dryad looked at him up and down and gave a little smirk, "If you want it back, you have to do something for us."

Kup sighed, why was nothing ever easy for him?

"What do ya want?"

The dryad pointed to the east, "There is a pond over there with a treasure at the bottom of it. Bring it to us and you may have your weapon back."

Nope, nothing could ever be easy for him.

"Fine!" Kup stomped out of the clearing, missing how the dryad ogled him and his aft as he strode away.

He hadn't walked for very long when reached a small clear solvent pond that seemed to have no bottom. Resigned to having to do this to get his axe back, Kup moved to edge and eased into the pond. He let himself sink down, looking around as he descended. The pond had smooth walls that offered no points to grab onto for when he started back up.

After several breems, he finally reached the bottom and landed on a soft sandy floor. Looking around in the solvents he saw nothing but sand and began to think that the dryad was playing a trick on him. He turned to start heading back up and saw something shine under the sand, bending over he revealed a large jeweled  . In fact it looked suspicously like the coronet that the Magnus' mate had worn before it had been stolen.

Placing it in his subspace, Kup began to swim up to the surface of the pond. It took awhile since he had to pace himself so he wouldn't have to rest on the way up since there was no place to rest at. Finally he reached the surface of the pond and climbed out of it.

Heading back to the dryads' tree, he moved through the woods quickly so he could get his axe and head home. The sun was getting low, and the way to his hut was long. Even Kup did not linger in the forest at night.

He finally reached the clearing with the dryads' tree within it and took a few steps towards the tree and stopped. "I gotch yer treasure. Now bring meh mah ax and ah'll trade ya."

The angry dryad emerged and one of the vines handed him Kup's axe. The dryad threw the axe into the grasses next to Kup. "Take it. You may keep the treasure. If you return here, we will tell you where other treasures may be found."

Kup looked at the dryad confused, but took the axe and quickly subspaced it where the dryad couldn't get to it.  "Uh, thank ya?"

Kup edged away from the tree and the dryad. As soon as he reached the edge of the clearing he began to run towards the path to his home.

\-------------------------

Kup could not believe he was having to do this. He did not want to do this, but he had no choice. He had travelled to the near by village to speak with the magistrate about finding the coronet in the forest.

It had not gone well at all.

The magistrate, a pompous and agressive mech named Sentinel, had all but accused Kup of stealing it in the first place. Then had demanded that Kup go to where ever he had found the coronet to look for the necklace that had been stolen from the Magnus' mate at the same time. When Kup had tried to protest, the mech had threatened to charge Kup with several crimes and fine him for supposed violations of the law.

So now he was trudging through the woods trying to find the crazy mech-eating dryads' tree again.

Such was his luck it seemed: bad, very bad, and you poor dumb slagger.

Finally he reached the clearing, and cautiously approached the tree. "Hello?"

The same dryad emerged from it's trunk, "You have come back. Perhaps you could give us your name this time, before you flee like a sparkling?"

Kup looked at the ground and hufffed, "'m Kup. And...and ah need yer help."

The dryad looked pleased by that fact. "Oh, and what do you need our help for Kup?"

"I need to find the necklace that was stolen when the coronet was."

\-----------

Reflector looked his mate-to-be over, and did not like what he saw. His mate, his /Kup// looked weary and scared. This would not do.

"Why do you need to find this necklace?"

Their Kup looked away and sighed. "Ah tried ta turn in tha coronet, and tha magistrate tried to say ah stole it. He says if'en ah don't find tha necklace, he'll charge meh with stealing and lock meh up."

Reflector hissed in anger at the idea of his Kup being taken from him. "The necklace is at the base of a tree by the pond. It should be big enough that you could see it without having to dig. Do not harm the tree though."

His Kup looked confused but nodded and headed away from the clearing. "Wait, Kup!"

Kup looked back at him in confusion, "Yah need somethin'?"

Reflector looked at him and smiled, "You can call us Reflector. If you come back, we can tell you where the deadfalls are. There are no laws against those are there?"

Kup gave him a confused look, "Why are ya doin' this?"

Reflector just smiled and went back inside his portion of the tree.

\-----------------

Kup stared at where the dryad, Reflector, had been and shook his helm. He would never understand strange beings like these.

He headed off towards the pool where he had recovered the coronet and hoped he could find the necklace quickly. It had taken him longer than he had liked to find the dryad tree and it was later in the sol than he was comfortable with.

He knew he had to get that necklace fast.

As soon as he reached the pond he began to search under the trees that were nearby. It took him four tries before he found the necklace. He moved it to the pond and dunked it a few times to clean it off and was amazed at what he saw. No wonder the Magnus and his mate wanted this back: the pendant was made of orange and gold cora.

Kup carefully slipped the valuable necklace into his subspace and turned to leave. He carefully retraced his steps to the dryad's clearing and paused as he crossed it before saying, "Ah found it. An' ... Thanks."

With that Kup hurried out of the clearing and made his way towards the path that would lead him home.

\------------------------------

Reflector was pleased with how his plan was going on luring his mate-to-be to them, Kup came to see them nearly every sol to ask where the dead crystal trees had fallen so he could harvest them free of restraints. Kup had slowly lost his fear of them as well, and would walk right up to their tree now, though he was careful to never touch their tree either.

Spectro and Spyglass had been working hard to create a gift for their Kup and were finally done. They had woven several of their branches together, hidden up in their canopy, and created a rough loom. Viewfinder had walked their clearing gathering the finest mechno-grasses and the bits of petro-rabbit fibers from the bushes as well the fibers from any that they caught before they fed.

The three of them had created a nice warm hooded cloak to keep their Kup warm and dry. Now Kup would be protected when he had to work in the forest on rainy sols and the acid would not harm his frame. They worried about their Kup, he took such poor care of himself.

It was a good thing he had them to take care of him now.

A sudden rustling from the bushes on the edge of clearing alerted Reflector to something approaching them. Going back inside their tree in case it was Kup, they waited to see what was coming into their clearing. To their pleased surprise, it was a large beryllium boar, rooting around in the high grasses. Reflector slowly lowered a few of their vines to the ground and let the sweet sap in them leak out a bit. The beryllium boar snuffed the air curiously and began to move towards their tree.

Excellent.

Reflector waited until the beryllium boar got close, nearly to the lure vine, and then struck! He whipped his vines down and around the beryllium boar and yanked it up and off the ground. The boar began to thrash and squeal in its bonds and Viewfinder was just moving forward to feed when Kup came running into the clearing, weapon ready and slid to a stop staring at Reflector.

Oh, root rot!

\-----------------------

Kup was not sure what he had been expecting to find when he came barreling into the clearing, but a squealing beryllium boar in Reflector's vines had not been high on the list at all.

"Is ah, everthin' okay Reflector? Ah heard screaming, er...squealing ah guess."

Reflector looked....embarrased? "We are fine, Kup. Do not worry. We merely caught this boar, that is why it is squealing."

Two of Reflector's frames merged back into their tree trunks and the boar was hoisted higher into the branches where Kup could no longer see it. Shortly after the boar's squeal cut off suddenly, making Kup feel slightly queasy as he realized the other two frames must be feeding up there.

Viewfinder stepped towards him, and Kup reflexively stepped back. Viewfinder's faceplates took on a sad look and drew back. "We thought you no longer feared us, Kup. We thought you knew that we would never hurt you, you are our...friend."

Well, frag. Now he felt lower than slag.

"Ah know that. I'm sorry but, ah've never seen ya...feed before." 

It hadn't helped that the boar was dangling there just like he had been when Reflector caught him though.

"Very well. We will try not to feed around you since it makes you uncomfortable. Come, we have a gift for you."

Kup had no idea what kind of gift a mech-eating dryad gave a bot, but he hoped it wasn't something from one of their mech victims.

He had no idea how he would react if the dryad tried, but it likely would not be nice.

Kup moved closer to the tree, making sure to stay on the side furthest from where the boar had...disappeared. Viewfinder climbed up the tree and soon came down with a large bundle.

"We made this for you, Kup!"

Kup took the bundle and began to unfold it, revealing a warm and soft cloak with a hood for covering his helm. Kup looked at Viewfinder, "Ya made this fer me?"

Viewfinder look pleased at how surprised he was, "Yes! We wanted to have a way to help you when you are working. It will protect you from the cold and the rain."

Kup looked at Viewfinder and gave him a soft smile, "Thank ya. This is the nicest thing anybots ever done fer me."

Viewfinder moved a little closer and took Kup's cloak from him and threw in around Kup and tied it on snugly. "There, you look better already!" 

Kup looked down at Viewfinder and was surprised at how close the dryad had gotten. Kup stiffened as the dryad leaned closer yet and then...kissed him on the lipplates. As soon as Kup realized what had happend, Viewfinder had already drawnback and was merging back into his tree trunk with one last look over his shoulder before he was gone.

Well, that was new.

\------------------

Reflector watched as Kup stared at the trunk where Viewfinder had just been before heading out into the forest. Viewfinder had been so bold, stealing a taste of their mech so soon after he had been unnerved by their feeding. Spectro and Spyglass kissed Viewfinder to share in the faint taste of Kup that remained. Once they had shared the taste, Viewfinder went to go and claim his share of the boar still dangling in the branches. As soon as he finished, they would submerge the boar down amongst their roots to draw its nutrients into themselves.

The boar would join illustrious company down in their roots- they had fed on many things after all: petrorabbits, sleipneir, beryllium boars and titanium moose, of course. They had also fed on many mechs before Kup: theives, knights, wanderers, a few woodcutters like Kup and even a rouge princeling once. All their frames were below now, their frames having fed Reflector long ago.

However, now that they had found their mech that was all over. They would have to be content with just the mechanimals of the forest to feed on. Their Kup was worth the sacrifice though.

They just hoped Kup would be careful this sol, they could feel something dark in the forest. The trees whispered to each other of danger and caution in the east, and Kup had headed to the west. It surely would not go so far.

Surely.

\-----------------------------------------------------

Kup swung his axe, driving it deep into the fallen log he was hewing in two. The log was big enough to provide several sols worth of work for him and give him a good enough supply of logs that he could load his trailer and take them to the village to sell. He knew he would get a good price this time of stellar cycle as mechs began to stockpile fuel for the cold cycle coming up.

He would have to spend most of the credits he earned buying his own supplies for the cold cycle but hopefully he could get enough loads in before the snows began to fall that he could have a bit of credits saved up for emergencies.

He had set Reflector's gift to the side, hanging from a branch of a near-by tree so it wouldn't get ruined as he worked. He would hate to have damaged a gift that must have taken a while for the dryads to have made just for him.

He suspected that Reflector cared for him as more than a friend and that kiss that he had stolen seemed to support that idea. Kup didn't know how he felt about that to be honest, he had learned to like the dryads once he was sure they weren't going to eat him and sure the three of them were pretty attractive in their bare protoforms.

He suspected his feelings for them may be more than friendship as well.

A snap of a branch breaking broke Kup from his introspection and made his look around to try and find the source of the sound. There on the opposite side of the fallen tree was a dark figure in a deep black cloak. As he moved closer to Kup the light seemed to fade and the shadows spread and darkened.

Kup shifted his grip on the handle of his axe, the ominous sense of danger filling him. The cloaked mech began to move around the log towards Kup, only to pause when it reached the cloak still hanging from its branch. The mech reached out a servo that Kup could see was dull grey, grey as an offlined mech, and eaten away by rust and corrison.

"That's mine! Let it be!" Kup said loudly, this mech was dangerous but he would not lose Reflector's gift to a thief.

The ominous mech slowly turned his hidden face towards Kup and a horrible, wheezing sort of laugh escaped the mech. It then reached out and drew it's servo along the length of the cloak, before it drew back slightly in surprise. "A dryad made this for you. A mech eating dryad at that. They thought well of you and wished to protect you."

The mech moved his servo back to his side and hid it within his cloak once more. With one more look at Kup's cloak, the mech moved closer to Kup and drew to a stop before him. "Tell me woodcutter, how did you befriend this dryad?"

Kup looked at the mech in slight confusion, "Ah, ah tried to cut down their tree and they stopped me."

The mech looked at him curiously, then before Kup could react the mech's decayed servo shot out and nicked his fuel line in his neck. The mech drew his servo back and licked the drop of fuel from his claw.

"Ah, I see." Then the mech began to laugh and walked away in the shadows and disappeared, the laughter faintly echoing before it to vanished.

What the frag?

\-------------------------------- 

Reflector could feel the danger passing away to the west and was afraid that the darkness in the forest might harm his Kup.

He waited and listened to the whispers the trees brought to him. They brought whispers of danger, of darkness and of death.

They whispered of a fateful meeting and of spilled fuel on thirsty roots. Of choked screams and a fallen axe.

Reflector felt his sparks freeze at that whisper and he prayed to Primus that his Kup was not the one the trees whispered of, that he would return soon and would be alright.

He prayed and prayed until he heard something coming through the bushes that surrounded his clearing. Peering out, he was overjoyed to see Kup coming through the bushes into the clearing, although he looked nervous and kept throwing looks over his shoulder.

"Are you alright Kup? The trees kept whispering about something in the forest and we were worried about you!"

Kup looked up at them and gave them a smile, "Ah'm okay. Met an odd fellow in the forest but he just asked meh a question and left." 

Reflector froze from where they were emerging from their tree. "A-a question?"

Kup looked at Reflector curiously, "Yeah, he looked at the cloak y'all made me and asked meh how ah met yah. Ah told him and he laughed and walked away."

Reflector stared at Kup a moment before running at him and clasping him in a hug with all three of his frames. "Do you not realize what that was? That was one of the undead mechs who wander the forest. He could have killed you in an instant."

Reflector felt Kup stiffen in his hold, "O-one of the spirits from the lost cities?"

Every mech knew the stories, how long ago before the forest grew up and spread over the land, two cities had existed here, though exactly where no mech remembered. The cities had warred with each other until at last both were destroyed, but even in death the mechs still wandered searching for their enemies to slay and often slaying those who wandered into their paths without mercy.

Reflector softly answered, "Yes. They have mostly found rest but a few still stir occasionally."

Reflector held Kup a moment longer before letting go reluctantly. "I am so glad you are safe, Kup. You had us so very worried. You should head straight home now though. If the restless dead are walking, worse will be out in the dark cycle."

Kup nodded and headed towards the path he had worn to Reflector's clearing and headed out as fast as he could. Reflector could only sigh in relief that for what ever reason, the restless undead had spared his Kup.

\-------------------------------------

Ever since Kup had had his encounter with the restless undead, he was careful to always have returned home well before the dark cycle began and to always carry Reflector's cloak with him.

He had taken his load of wood into the village the next sol and learned that two other woodcutters had been found torn to pieces in the forest. He somehow knew that their fate would have been his own if not for the cloak Reflector had given him.

He had sold all his wood for more than he had thought: with the murders of the two woodcutters, fewer were going into the forest and wood was even scarcer. He had even had enough for an unnecessary purchase that was safely tucked into his subspace.

He followed the path he had worn over the time he had known Reflector to the dryads' clearing. As he approached the tree, Reflector emerged from the trucks and smiled as they waved to him. The near death experience had led to them growing closer and Kup would admit, to himself at least, that he had very strong feelings for the dryads at this point.

He walked towards the dryads and Reflector met him halfway. "Kup! There is a new fallen tree! It is just to the east of here, not too far at all. The trees say it was a very old tree, one of the giants of the forest!"

Kup could not believe his luck, a giant?! Those trees were the largest in forests and so large that even a gestalt would be dwarfed by them. Kup smiled at Reflector and then remembered his package in his subspace. "Thank yah for telling meh, Reflector. Ah have a surprise for yah, please offline yer optics fer a moment?"

Reflector gave Kup a curious look but one by one all three frames shuttered their optics. As soon as their optics were shuttered, Kup moved towards their tree and reached up for the lowest branch and in less then a breem it was ready. He moved away from the surprise and stood so he would be able to see Reflector's reaction to it.

"Yah can look now."

Reflector's three sets of optics unshuttered and onlined and they looked at Kup for a moment before they looked around to find their surprise. It didn't take them long to find it either.

"Oh Kup! It is beautiful!"

Kup felt himself blush lightly at Reflector's praise. "It was nothin'. Ah saw it and thought yah might like it is all."

"They are beautiful, Kup! Beautiful!" All three of Reflector's frames were over by their gift and exclaiming over how lovely it was. The pretty little windchime tinkled in the little breeze and chimed delicately. Kup had seen the carved piece above the ring decorated with a wreath of leaves just like Reflectors and even the wind catcher was carved like one of Reflector's leaves. He knew he had to get it for Reflector.

He turned to make his escape when Viewfinder ran over to him and grabbed his helm, drawing him down into a kiss. "Thank you Kup!"

Kup was then kissed by the other two frames, although he honestly could not complain about it. He ended up heading off in search of the fallen tree with a sort of goofy grin on his faceplates.

He soon found the tree and had to agree it was indeed a giant. That turned out to be the problem, in fact. The tree was so large that it had become hooked on another tree as it had fallen. Kup looked at the tree from several angles to try and figure out the best way to get it all the way down.

He decided to trim the branches down that he could reach and then try to seperate the trunk in two so the portion stuck in the air would fall. Unfortunately, as Kup was trimming the branches near the stuck portion, a mighty cracking sound was heard before the rest of the tree fell free.

Right on top of his leg.

Frag.

Kup tried to wiggle out from under the tree, his leg luckily in a slight dip in the ground so it was only slightly damaged instead of crushed, but he could not get free on his own. Finally Kup began to chop the tree on either side of his leg to try and cut a segment away so he could get free. It took most of the rest of the sol and the dark cycle was fast approaching as Kup finally freed his leg.

He managed to get to his peds, his injured leg barely up to holding his weight. Kup grabbed a branch from the ground and began to limp back towards Reflector's clearing and the path home to his hut.

He had not made it far when thought he heard something in the distance. It sounded like turbo-hounds on the scent and the screams of riding-slepneir. The sound of a hunting horn shattered the quiet of the night. Kup felt his spark freeze and moved as fast as his injured leg would allow.

He could only pray that the Hunt was not here for him.

Those prayers were proved to be in vain as the sounds drew nearer and louder. Kup scrambled towards Reflector's clearing as fast as he could. The turbo-hounds drawing near enough he could see the lights of their optics and heard them take up the shrill cry that they had found their prey.

He moved as fast as he could and burst into the clearing and headed towards Reflector's tree. Reflector did not emerge from within their tree, but instead their vines whipped down and snatched Kup up into the branches high above the ground and hid him among their leaves.

Kup could barely see the ground but caught a glimpse of a turbo-hound with deep red optics and razor fangs snuffling the ground below before Kup shuttered his optics and clung to the branch he had been placed on.

For a long breem that seemed to go on forever, indescribably evil voices discussed what had happened to their prey and then selected a new target and went tearing off into the darkness.

Kup trembled from his perch and clung tight to the branch and the vines holding him.

At long last the branch seemed to twitch and a familiar servo emerged, and cupped Kup's faceplates, then moved over his frame as though searching for any injuries. When the servo reached his damaged leg it froze and the very gently went over it, examing to see how bad it was. The servo then slid back inside the tree.

The vines holding Kup in place shifted and Kup felt himself being moved to a larger and broader branch slightly lower to the ground. Once he was situated, Viewfinder emerged from the trunk above the branch and cuddled against Kup. "Oh Kup! We were so frightened! They almost had you! /They// almost got you! Oh, Kup, what happened to your leg?"

Kup let Viewfinder fuss over him for a little while then silenced him with a kiss before saying, "Part of the tree fell on meh. Thank yah fer yer help."

Viewfinder looked up at Kup, "We would never have let you be hurt, Kup. We- we love you."

Kup froze at the word, then melted. "Ah love yah, too Reflector."

The rest of the dark cycle was spent with the two cuddled together in Reflector's tree.

\-------------------------------------------

Kup hated this. Hated it so much.

The cold cycle was upon them, and soon the snows would begin to fall and it would be impossible for him to come into the woods to see Reflector.

The snows would be too high to get through until the thawing cycle began later in the stellar cycle. He worried about what would happen to Reflector, surely he could catch no prey in the high snows. What if he starved? Or was knocked over by the storm winds in the winter? So many things things could happen to an unprotected tree.

A woodcutter could try to chop them down! And Reflector may not have the strength to protect himself!

He ran into the clearing where Reflector's tree was and froze in shock. Every leaf on their tree was a deep brown and more than half had fallen to the ground. Was Reflector sick? Primus who would know how to treat a sick dryad tree?

Kup ran to the tree and called out, "Reflector! Reflector? Where are yah? Are yah okay? Reflector!"

A sleepy looking Viewfinder slipped from his tree trunk, yawned and said sleepily: "Hi Kup! What's all the yelling about?"

Kup drew Viewfinder to him and ran his servos over him, "Are yah okay? Yer tree! It looks like-"

Viewfinder cut him off with a kiss, "Isn't it pretty? All the pretty colors! We are glad you came to see us before we slept for the winter, Kup. We will dream of you though!"

Kup paused, "Sleep? Whatcha mean sleep?"

Viewfinder laughed softly, "We sleep through the winter with our tree. Unless we get attacked we won't wake up until the thawing cycle starts."

Kup ducked his head and said, "Ah was worried about yah. Ah'm glad yah'll be alright then."

Reflector smiled brightly and slighty blearily up at Kup, "We love you Kup! You are the sweetest mech ever." 

Kup blushed, "I love you too Reflector. You must be the best dryad ever."

Viewfinder leaned up for another kiss, then sleepily stumbled back to his tree trunk and merged inside.

Kup looked at the tree and how bare it was becoming before noticing that Reflector had added stronger fibers to tie their wind chime to its branch. The fact they had taken such care with his gift made his so happy.

He turned and left the clearing, heading back down to his far too lonely hut.

\-----------------------------------------------------

Kup could hardly believe the thawing cycle had begun at last. He had been trapped in his small hut for most of the cold season after a blizzard had struck. For the first time in so long he was free!

He was free and he had a plan.

Well, actually he had two plans. Both of them were going to work though, he just knew it! Now he just had to ask Reflector what he thought of the plans. 

He had his axe over his shoulder and was heading up to Reflector's clearing when he smelled something sweet drifting in the air.

He soon reached Reflector's clearing and gawked in surprise at the sight before him: Reflector's tree was covered in the most beautiful sweet smelling blossoms he had ever seen. He started to walk forward towards the tree and was halfway there when vines whipped out at him and off to the side of him. He found himself dangling from the vine next to a struggling petrorabbit. Viewfinder and Spectro emerged from the tree trunks, and Viewfinder swept Kup in a deep kiss while Spectro grabbed the petrorabbit and moved behind the tree trunks.

"Hello Kup! It is thawing cycle!" 

Kup smiled at Viewfinder, "So ah see. Yah look beautiful! Yer blossoms are amazing, ah didn't even know you /had// blossoms."

Viewfinder kissed him again and Kup knew his plans were going to be the best thing ever!

Kup pulled back from the kiss, and Viewfinder frowned at him, "What's wrong? You like our kisses."

Kup gave Viewfinder a small kiss, "Ah do. Ah gotta question fer yah though. What do yah think of meh moving up here by yah?"

Viewfinder looked at him oddly, "What do you mean?"

Kup smiled at him, "Ah want ta make a new hut, no a /cabin// up here. So ah can be close tah yah all tha time. What do yah think?"

Viewfinder stared at him for a long time, "You want to move up here, to be with us? Be with us always? Oh Kup! Yes! Yes! Yes!"

Kup smiled back at Viewfinder, "That settles it then. Ah'll work halfa each sol on the cabin, then find some fallen logs tah get ready to sell. Ah'll have the cabin built in no time!"

\------------------------------------

In reality it had taken Kup all of the thawing season and half of the warm season to finish the cabin. Every sol when Kup left to go chop logs to sell in the village Reflector would go over and look at the cabin. They had never seen a bot dwelling before and thought it looked kinda strange. There were so many things that seemed to make no sense to them at all but they supposed it would be a good home for their Kup, since after all he couldn't go into their tree with them. Although there were myths of sparkbonded mates who could draw their nondryad mate into their tree with them.

However, the important part was that Kup was moving in this sol! Their Kup would live with them in their clearing forever now. Any moment now Kup would return from fetching his belongings from his old hut and bringing them here. Kup had said he may have to make two or three trips to get everything but Reflector didn't mind. His Kup was going to be with him forever.

\---------------

It had taken him /four// trips to get everything moved to the new cabin, including the trip into the village to buy new things to put in the cabin since it was so much bigger than his old hut. He knew Reflector had been running  in and out of the cabin and was anxious to see it finished and furnished fully.

He finished unpacking his last few storage cubes and put his supplies away, then went to the door and opened it wide. "You three can come in and see now!"

Reflector emerged from their tree and hurried over, their faceplates alight with curiousity. They eased in the cabin, each frame giving Kup a kiss as they came in before moving around the cabin looking at every little thing and asking dozens of 'whys' and 'what is this' questions. Kup answered their questions as best as he could. "That's a chair, yah sit on it. That's a holocube, Spectro it shows image captures. That would be a fireplace, Spyglass."

The last one had caused them all to move away from it quickly and kept shooting it dark glares as they continued to explore the new cabin. Finally they came back to Kup and gave him each a kiss once more. "Your home is beautiful Kup. We are so glad you moved closer to us Kup!"

Kup blushed and took Viewfinder's servos in his. "Ya'll know ah ain't that good at speakin' none. But this ain't mah home, ah want it ta be /our// home. Reflector, would yah three bond with me?"

Viewfinder looked up at Kup and all three frames said at once, "Oh Kup, Yes! We would love to bond with you!"

\-----------------------------------------

Three stellar cycles have come and gone since Kup bonded to Reflector. Things had been going so well for the two of them, but lately Reflector has seemed sad.

Every thawing cycle Reflector would be energetic and horny as frag, but as it drew closer to the warm cycle he would stare at his tree and sorrowfully watch as the blossoms slowly faded and were replaced by new leaves.

Kup didn't know what they were watching for but he wished he knew how to make his beloveds happy again. He didn't like it when Reflector was unhappy.

Kup went to Reflector where they were sitting in their tree, working on the looms that they had made by twinning branches into the shape they wanted. "Reflector, somethin' is botherin' yah, ah c'n tell. Talk tah meh sweetspark."

Reflector looked up at Kup and then looked away sadly, "We have failed you."

Kup looked at his bondeds confused, "Yah have never failed meh, yah give meh more than ah could ask."

Reflector simply shook their helms and huddled together, drawing comfort from his other frames, "We have failed you! We can not give you..."

Kup drew the three huddled frames into a hug, "Give meh what? Yah give meh everythin'."

Viewfinder looked up at Kup and softly whispered, "We haven't given you a sparkling."

Kup froze. The idea of having a sparkling with his beloved Reflector had been beyond what he thought was possible. "Ah didn't think it were possible, sweetsparks."

Viewfinder looked up at Kup before turning back to the other two frames, "It is. We have tried and tried but every stellar cycle our blossoms fade away without leaving any fruit to grow. We are so sorry, our Kup."

Kup drew the three frames as close to him as possible, now understanding why they looked so sad when their blossoms faded every stellar cycle. "We will just haveta keep trying."

Reflector looked up at Kup with love in their optics, "You...you are not mad?"

Kup chuckled softly, "Ah could never be mad at yah, ah love yah."

\---------------------------------------------

Kup had planned this out very carefully. He had begun preparations shortly after learning of Reflector's attempts to spark. He had begun going into the village and speaking with all the older mechs and femmes, as well as asking the bots known for their outstanding gardens.

He was ready.

He began by bringing back from the village large bags of special fertilizers which all the gardener bots had agreed was the best type to use. He would never forget the dark cycle after he had added it to the ground around Reflector's roots, Reflector had been beyond wild.

Next he poured out a large container of blessed solvents he had had the local village priest bless for him all over Reflector's roots right before Reflector went into his cold cycle sleep.

All through out the cold cycle, Kup tended to Reflector. He made sure that before the snows fell he had placed the fallen leaves in high piles around the base of the tree trunks and over Reflector's roots. He then covered the piles with thick canvas meshes he had saved all stellar cycle. He made sure to water Reflector every decacycle with solvents mixed with special nutrients to help keep him healthy.

His hard work was rewarded when that thawing cycle, Reflector's tree had more blossoms than any stellar before, and the blossoms were bigger and more fragrant as well. Reflector emerged from their recharge and all but pounced on Kup as soon as they left their tree trunks.

However as the warm season began to arrive, one by one the blossoms faded and fell. Reflector and Kup watched with heavy saddened sparks as every sol more blossoms dropped. Finally there were only a few blossoms left and Kup and Reflector mourned that they would remain without a sparkling for another stellar. 

Then Kup saw it.

There on one of Reflector's branches was a very very small fruit set. Spectro immediately scurried up to it's branch and gently touched their tiny sparkling-to-be. Viewfinder and Spyglass drew Kup in a tight hug then kissed him thoroughly. They had a sparkling!

Kup could hardly believe how lucky they were. They would have to watch over their fruit very carefully until it was safe.

\----------------------

Every sol as Kup was coming home from harvesting fallen logs in the forest, he would stop to check on their sparkling. His spark seemed to get lighter each time he saw their precious little bundle growing on its branch. One of Reflector's frames was always perched on it's branch keeping careful watch over it, going so far as to shield it from the wind on particularly breezy sols.

They loved their sparkling and could hardly wait until they could plant their sparkling's seed and watch it sprout and grow into a fine sturdy dryad. Kup had been confused at first but once Reflector had explained that the fruit actually contained their sparkling's seed Kup had been more understanding. When the cooling season came this stellar, their sparkling fruit would ripen and drop- into Reflector's waiting servos- and they would carefully store the fruit in a nice cool and dry place so it could be safe until the thaw began.

Kup actually wanted to suggest that they plant their sparkling seed after it fell, inside a large planter pot. He would tend to it all through the cold cycle while Reflector recharged and when thaw can, they could plant their sparkling as a sprouted sapling insead of a tiny seed.

Get their sparkling a bit of a head start.

He worked hard to chop as much wood as he could, he wanted to expand the cabin so their sparkling would have a nice nursery and later his own room for when he was not in his tree.

Every sparkling needed a place of their own sometime, and he has noticed dryads can't take things into their tree unless it is in their subspace. This way their sparkling will have a place for its sparklinghood treasures and toys.

\-----------------------

Reflector was overjoyed. They had a sparkling! He had produced a fruit for his Kup!

He had worried that they were barren, that fruit would never be born on their branches. It had been sparkbreaking to think. However, their wait had ended and they had born fruit!

He kept at least one frame out of their trunks each sol, with one frame always on the branch above their fruit keeping watch over it. They would ensure nothing harmed their little seedling.

Their little seedling.

Just thinking the phrase made their sparks pulse with pride. Their little one would be the best dryad ever, they just knew it! They could hardly wait to teach their little one everything they needed to know: how to lure different prey, and the best ways to feed off of them as well as how to properly tuck their prey's frames in their roots.

He turned the optics of the frame guarding their little one to the small growing fruit, It had doubled in size now with a soft slighty fuzzy skin of a soft but deep red. It was lovely.

\---------------------------

All through the warm cycle, Reflector had guarded their seedling. They fought countless battles against strong winds, mechano-insects, and avians. Anything that might be a threat to their precious offspring was not tolerated in the least. It was slowly becoming the cooling cycle and Reflector had patiently posted a frame under their seedling at all times, ready to catch it carefully when it was ready to separate and fall.

Kup had made sure to add blessed solvents every decacycle as well as nutrient pellets and rich fertilizing soils around Reflector's tree to help keep both his bondeds and their sparkling fully healthy. In fact he was bringing a load of soil back that very sol.

Kup carefully headed up the path that lead to the cabin and Reflector's tree and was nearly home when he heard a branch snapping behind him. He turned and saw one of the naive young mechs from the village following him. What was his name again? Oh yeah, Hoist.

"There a reason yer followin' meh, Hoist?"

The mech had the sense to look embarassed to have been caught, but replied, "I wanted to see your cabin. The mechs in the village say you built it all by yourself and that it is the strongest cabin anymech has ever seen."

"Why would ya want to see that?" Kup was puzzled as he looked at the mech.

"I want to build houses and cabins and temples and everything! I want to know everything about buildings! So I want to see how you built your home!"

By this point, Kup and Hoist had reached the clearing that held the cabin and Reflector's tree. Reflector had obviously heard the loud young mech and had hidden all his frames except the one guarding their sparkling fruit in the branches of the tree. Even Kup could barely see him up there and he knew where to look.

Hoist took one look at the cabin and dashed over to it, exclaiming over every little thing and asking Kup a never ending flow of questions: "What is this wood? Why did you put the wall here and not there? Did..did you only use wooden pegs instead of nails or screws? Did you hand hew all the wood for it too?"

After almost two joors, Hoist finally ran out of questions, which was a good thing because Reflector was running out of patience judging by the feelings coming through the bond. Reflector wanted to be out in case their sparkling fruit decided to drop this very moment.

Kup began trying to draw Hoist away from the cabin and finally managed it. Only for Hoist to notice Reflector's tree.

"Wow, I've never seen a tree like this before! Do you know what kinda tree it is?"

Kup coughed and looked at the ground, "It's a rare tree, ah ferget the proper name fer it. Now, yah should be gettin' home afore it gets ta be the dark cycle."

Hoist looked startled as he realized how late it had become. "You are right! I should start heading back to the village. No wonder I was getting hungry! Mmm that looks tasty too!"

With that to Kup's horror Hoist reached out as though to pluck the sparkling fruit from Reflector's branches.

"STOP!" Kup bellowed, as he grabbed Hoists servo. "Yah never never touch a fruit offa these trees!"

Hoist stared at Kup startled out of his wits. "W-why? What's wrong with it?"

Kup glared at the young mech, "Ain't nothin' wrong with it! It ain't for eatin' though! Yah try and yah'll be deader than dead in a nanosec! Now get going'. Go on! Get!"

Hoist tore out of the clearing like Unicron himself was after him.

As soon as Hoist left the clearing, Kup began to examine their sparkling terrified that it had been hurt or injured. Reflector was cooing as he gently stroked the little fruit, worry on his faceplates as well.

Kup looked at his bonded and asked, "Is it okay? Did he hur-"

With a soft snap, the small sparkling fruit broke free of the branch. Reflector made a soft gasp and reached out to catch it only to barely miss it. Shocked, Kup lurched forward and carefully caught it mid-fall. Reflector dashed down from the branch and his other frames emerged from the their trunks and rushed over to Kup to exclaim over their sparkling fruit.

Kup looked up at Reflector, knowing now was the time to ask. "What do yah think a' plantin' it now?"

Reflector looked at Kup in horror. "You want to kill our sparkling? It would not have time to grow before the cold cycle came and it would freeze and wither. How can you-"

Kup looked at Reflector, his servo covering Viewfinder's lipplates. "Ah would never hurt our sparkling, Reflector. Ah got one a those big planter pots. Ah..ah was thinkin' a' plantin' it in that and ah take care of it all cold cycle and we plant it out here in the thaw cycle."

Reflector looked at Kup, and kissed him softly. "We know you would never hurt our sparkling, Kup. Forgive us. We would need to see the ...pot to see if it is big enough. Our trees have large roots. I will show you how to tend our sproutling if the pot will suit."

Kup nodded and led Reflector into the cabin and showed him the planter he had bought for their sparkling. It was a large, wide planter that had been painted a soft pale blue and decorated with flowering vines and cyberflies. Kup thought it was perfect for a dryad sparkling.

Reflector moved around the planter, his Spectro and Viewfinder frames examining it minutely while Spyglass gently cradled their sparkling fruit.

After a breem, the two frames nodded and turned to Kup, "This is an acceptable pot. You will fill it with the good soil and the nutrient solvents. And then you will need to..."

Kup looked at Reflector when they stopped talking, "Ah'll need ta what?"

Reflector looked at Kup, "You will need to add some of your own energon to the soil before we plant our sproutling and then you will need to add a little every decacyle until it sprouts out."

Kup looked at Reflector, "Our sparkling ain't gonna try an eat meh, right?"

"Of course not, my Kup. Our sparkling will love you!"

\-------------------------------

Kup gazed into the fire burning on his hearth. He had just checked the soil in his sparkling's planter and rotated it so it would warm evenly. He would do anything to keep his sparkling healthy, even give the sparkling his energon once a decacycle.

The cold cycle had begun a few decacycles ago and Reflector had retreated into their tree for the cycle. Leaving Kup to watch over the sparkling growing in the planter. His only concern was that his wood pile was beginning to get low and he would need to fetch more wood from the larger pile he had made outside. Normally, Kup would have no problem getting the wood but he didn't want to leave his sparkling alone even for a little while.

Finally, after checking and double checking the planter, Kup headed out to fetch the wood. He had only made it half way to the stack of wood when the distant howl of a cyberwolf rang out through the dark cycle. Kup moved quickly to gather the wood and had begun loading his arms with it when the cyberwolf howled again- much closer this time.

Knowing that cyberwolves had little prey this time of the stellar cycle made Kup nervous, they would try to attack anything if they were hungry enough.

Kup turned to return to the cabin and began to follow his trail back to the door, when a blow came from the left side and pain lanced through his arm as a cyberwolf worried his armor trying to break through to the vulnerable protoform below. Kup kicked out at the cyberwolf, trying to break its grip on his arm only for the cyberwolf to bite into his leg when it drew close enough.

As the cyberwolf ripped into his plating, Kup reached into his subspace and pulled out his axe. He gave a massive swing of the axe and it caught the cyberwolf on the helm, knocking the cyberwolf off of his leg and driving it away into the darkness.

Kup gathered the wood as best as he could with his injuried frame and hobbled into the cabin before returning for the rest of the wood he had dropped. He looked over his frame at his injuries and knew he needed to see a medic, but he would not leave his sparkling behind and would have to make do without one until thawing cycle started.

Kup went to a cupboard in the cabin and pulled out a long unused medical kit and pulled out a long flat piece of metal and set the tip of it into the fire. He would have to seal the wounds and there was no one else around to do it. 

This was going to hurt.

\-------------------------------

Several decacycles had passed since the cyberwolf attack and the foul creature had not returned. Kup limped a bit from the very rough welding he had had to do to seal his wounds but he still tended to his sparkling as carefully and dilligently as before. Kup went to check the soil of the planter his sparkling was growing in and froze in shock.

There in the planter, just barely shyly peeking above the ground was a teeny tiny bit of sprout. His sparkling was sprouting! Kup could hardly believe his optics and his spark was so happy he could hardly contain it.

He carefully poured in the nutrient solvents and a bit of the liquid plant fuel into the planter around the tiny sprout. He carefully checked the temperature of the soil and rotated the planter a bit so the soil was warmed evenly through.

His sparkling would never want for anything if he could help it.

\----------------------

Kup hardly wanted to take his optics off of his sparkling. Every single breem it seemed like it was getting bigger and growing faster. His barely there sprout was now a full servo span above the soil now. Kup was so proud.

His sparkling was going to be so big and strong when the thawing cycle came, Reflector would hardly believe it!

Now more than ever, Kup was careful to give his sparkling fresh solvents as well as nutrient fluid.

He would never let a sparkling go hungry, let alone his own long desired sparkling, if he could help it.

He loved his sparkling already and he would offline before he let anything harm it.

He was careful not to give too much solvents or nutrients at once and had placed the planter close enough to the fire for it to stay warm and by a window so it got sunlight. Nothing but the best for their sparkling.

Kup checked on his sparkling again, then returned to his comfy chair before the fire making sure to keep an optic on the planter beside him. Kup reached into his subspace and pulled out a small sharp knife then got a small piece of wood from the special box beside him. He tried to avoid moving while his leg finished healing.

He began to shape the wood with his knife, slowly carving out a wooden cyberfly. He would make sure his sparkling had nice toys and things. He had already finished carving furniture for his sparkling's room. It was full of cupboards and drawers for a sparkling to fill with treasures and Kup had even carved a small berth, in case his sparkling needed a nap and was too tired to go back to its tree.

His only regret over having a dryad sparkling was the fact that he would never be able to do as much with his sparkling since it would be unable to travel too far from its tree. However, just having a sparkling made up for almost all of it.

\-------------------------------------

Reflector woke from recharge and immediately left their tree to rush into Kup's cabin. Inside they found Kup taking a stasis nap in his chair by the hearth and their sparkling's planter beside him. Reflector could not believe his optics, when he had agreed to Kup tending their sparkling over the cold cycle he had never thought their sparkling would grow so big! It was already a slender little sapling with, Reflector squinted at the tiny thin branches, tiny leaf buds. Their sparkling had its first buds!

Reflector was so proud.

They had nevered dreamed their sparkling would be this big and so developed already. Now they just needed to find the perfect spot for their sparkling to be planted. It needed to be close enough to their tree so they could help take care of their sparkling but also far enough away that it would give their sparkling a healthy area to hunt for food.

His sparkling needed the perfect spot. The best spot!

Now he, they, just had to find it.

Perhaps a spot near the cabin? They knew Kup would like that.

Reflector nudged their Kup gently from recharge, and smiled as Kup slowly onlined. Kup was about to say something, but Reflector drew him into a searing kiss.

They had much...catching up to do.

\-----------------------------------------------

It had taken much discussion but they had finally decided where to plant their sparkling's sapling.

They had decided to plant it beside the cabin, where it would be visible to both Reflector's tree and the window in the cabin. That way they both could keep an optic on their sparkling.

Which was why they were both standing here with their sparkling sapling safely in it's planter and Kup was carefully turning over the soil.

For the last decacylce Kup had been carefully tending to the soil. Kup had turned the soil, breaking up the solid clods so the soil was soft and light for their sparkling. After that Kup had added in nutrients and fertilizers to the soil to make it rich and healthy. The soil would be perfect for a dryad sapling to be planted in now.

Kup carefully turned the soil and dug out the soil he had prepared for the last decacylce, leaving a wide but not too deep hole. Reflector carefully used all three of his frames to gently remove their sapling from it's planter.

Carefully, they lowered their sapling into it's new and permanent home and Kup gently covered it roots with the rich and soft soil. Once their sapling's roots were covered and the soil had been patted down a bit, Kup poured out a bowl of blessed solvents carefully over the slim sapling.

"Are you sure it'll be okay? I mean all alone out here? Couldn't we have kept it inside for a while yet?"

Reflector drew Kup against him and gave his helm a soft kiss, "It was time, my Kup. Our sapling needs to be outside, needs to let it's roots spread. We will watch over our sapling and ensure that it will flourish and grow strong. Soon our sapling will grow large enough that our sparkling will emerge and we will be able to hold them for first time."

Kup could hardly wait to hold their sparkling for the first time.

\--------------------------------------------------------

Kup and Reflector had fallen into a routine. Every sol, Reflector would watch over their sparkling while Kup headed out into the woods to harvest the fallen dead trees. When he returned home each sol, he would watch over the sapling and Reflector would take the time to feed and hunt.

Every sol, they marveled at how well their sapling was growing. It seemed every sol brought something new with their sapling. The sol that their sapling grew almost a full mecho-inch in one sol. The sol that their sapling sprouted it's first tiny leaf. Reflector had almost popped with pride that sol.

Now their sapling was almost as high as Kup's chest and had several slender little branches filled with dainty little leaves. Kup had to admit that their sapling was the loveliest little tree he had ever seen. He had to wonder what their sparkling would look like once it emerged from it's tree for the first time.

Every sol after he returned from cutting wood, Kup poured fresh solvents on his sapling and once a decacycle he would make a small cut on his palm and let his energon drip onto the sapling's roots as well. He suspected Reflector was also feeding the sapling on energon from their prey.

It was therefore a thrilling and wonderful surprise when one sol as Kup was finishing pouring solvents over their sapling's roots that a tiny little servo reached out of the sapling and curled around his servo.

Kup froze at the sight of the tiny servo, and ever so carefully held still and without raising his voice too much, called out for Reflector to come over.  Reflector hurried over and gasped at the sight of the tiny servo emerging from the sapling.

Ever so carefully, Kup gently set the empty pail away with one servo while Kup held onto the tiny servo with his other. Carefully he drew the tiny servo to his sparkplates and as the tiny servo felt his sparkbeat, a tiny helm peeked out with huge blue optics.

Reflector reached into the tree and carefully drew the sparkling dryad from it's, no /his//, tree. A tiny little mech sparkling with large blue optics and tiny helm fins. Kup felt himself melt as he looked at their tiny sparkling.

"'e's gonna need a name yah know." Kup asked as he turned to Reflector.

Reflector looked at their little sparkling and smiled softly. "What do you think of Orion?"

"Orion? Hmm. Orion. Ah like it." Kup looked down at their sparkling cradled in Reflector's arms and smiled as well. "Hello, Orion."

\----------------------------

From the moment Orion had first emerged from his tiny sapling, he had had Kup wrapped around his tiny servo. Kup knew this, but couldn't bring himself to care. He loved his sparkling with all his spark. Every sol he looked forward to coming home and seeing his tiny sparkling.

Orion was still too young to even crawl, he just cooed and waved as he smiled at them.

He was already so precious to him and he would murder anybot who tried to hurt him or his sapling tree.

He had already carved tiny rings for Orion to gnaw on as he burbled on the mat Reflector had woven for their sparkling. He knew Reflector was worried about their sparklings dente for some reason, but Reflector had not explained anything to him yet and Orion's dente looked fine to him.

Every time he tried to ask Reflector about it, they just said it was nothing. He would take their word for it. He just wanted to go and play with their sparkling.

\--------------------------------------

Reflector was worried. They loved their sparkling so very much, and they were very worried about him. They had offered their precious Orion a nice fresh petrorabbit and Orion had simply pet it and let it go. They had tried again with a helium-hedgepig but had the same results. They had taken a look at Orion's dente and had been shocked by what they had found.

Their precious Orion had no fangs.

He had two sharp semi-fangs in the front but the rest of his dente were strange gear-like dente. They did not know what to do.

How would their sparkling feed? How would their sparkling find fuel?

Reflector hadn't even seen any vine buds in their sparkling's tree. They tried not to think about it, but they couldn't help that they dwelled on old stories of....of deformed sparklings that suffered from blight and did not revive after the cold cycle.

That would just break their sparks and Kup's.

They would just have to hope for the best.

\---------------------------------

Kup headed back to his cabin carrying his supplies as well as a surprise for his sparkling. He had noticed how Reflector had been looking at their sparkling's dente and he realized why his dente looked so familiar.

His sparkling had crystal eater dente.

He had bought several soft crystals from the trading post and would see how his sparkling liked them. When he learned which ones his sparkling liked best he would get seed crystals so his sparkling would always have some to nibble on. Sparkling crystals were easy to grow even for a mech like him.

When he arrived at the cabin, he found Reflector once again examining their sparkling's dente. He walked over to them and then sat beside the mat their sparkling, who had learned to roll over at this point, was on.

He reached down and lightly tickled Orion's tiny belly, prompting a round of tinkling little giggles from their happy little sparkling. Kup helplessly smiled at his sparkling, he loved him so much.

"Was he good today?" Kup asked as he looked up at Reflector.

"He was fine, my Kup." Reflector smiled back at Kup but Kup could see the worry in their optics.

"Ah brought him a treat. Ah think he'll like it." With that Kup reached into his subspace and pulled out one of the soft crystals and broke off a tiny bit that he place into Orion's mouth. Reflector jerked and tried to take it out, only to stop as the faint tiny sound of grinding gears was heard as Orion's dente processed the bite of crystal quickly. Orion burbled happily, tiny servos waving in excitement, and smiled up at them both in joy.

"What did you? How? What was that?" Reflector looked from Kup to Orion and back.

"Ah thought his dente looked familiar. Ah knew a bot with gear dente, and he was a crystal eater. So ah thought ah'd get Orion crystals ta try."

Reflector looked at Kup in amazement and then gave him a hard kiss.

"You have saved our sparkling, Kup! We feared he would never be able to hunt with those dente! You have saved Orion!" 

\-------------------------------------

It had taken a few decacycles but there were now sparkling crystals planted around Orion's sapling. The crystals were growing well and Orion liked to look at them as much as seemed to like eating them.

Orion was able to crawl a bit now, and would make his unsteady way to the crystals and nibble them before taking a recharge nap, often with a crystal still in his mouth.

It was adorable.

Reflector had asked the trees to relay a question to a near-by dryad grove. He wanted to know if Orion was normal or if they would take precautions for his safety. The reply was unexpected. The other dryads had been amazed and overjoyed that Reflector and Kup had produced such a sparkling, which they called a cyberfly bush dryad. They were apparently very very rare.

So rare, none had been created in almost 40 centivorns.

They had also eased Reflector's fears over Orion being more vulnerable than other sparklings. It appeared that the opposite was true: Cyberfly bush dryads were very hardy.

They had warned Reflector that wildlife maybe attracted to his sapling, that they may need to cover their sparkling's tiny tree with a fine net to keep it safe.

Kup had gone to the village and bought one that sol, and carefully set it up to protect Orion's tree.

Kup made sure that nothing could get in at all and that their sparkling would stay safe.

\-----------------------

Orion looked around, his papas were not paying attention to him at the moment and that meant this was his chance. He moved away from his tree cautiously, he knew if his papas caught him they would put him back on his mat. His mat was /boring//.

It was time for an /adventure//!

Orion crawled away quickly and had almost made it past the ring of crystals that surrounded his tree when Papa Kup scooped him up in his arms.

"Where da yah think yer goin' sparklin'?"

Orion twittered and chirped up at his papa, telling him to put him down and let him explore. Can't he see that he is on an /adventure//? Papa Kup simply carried him back to his mat and set him down. Orion was about to head off again when he saw something new on the mat. It was big and round and was blue with red. Orion crawled over to it to find out what it was, but when he touched it it moved away.

Well, he was not going to stand for that! Orion began to chase the...thing around but it kept getting away. Finally he lunged at the thing and ended up on top of it, only to roll off it and it slipped away again.

Orion glared at the thing and growled at it.

His papas laughed and Papa Viewfinder grabbed the thing and held it still. "Here, Orion. I'll hold your ball still so you can take it. Papa Kup was so nice to get it for you, wasn't he?"

Orion chirped as he lunged at the ball thing and managed to grab it. He burbled triumphantly and held it up as much as he could to show his papas how he caught the mighty ball thing.

He is the best sparkling ever. He knows it.

\-------------------------

Kup watched as Orion rolled his ball to Spectro and Spectro rolled it back. His sparkling loved the ball he had gotten for him. It was rare to see Orion without his ball anymore, their sparkling would be chasing after it or laying on it and rolling over and over.

Orion had even used the ball to help him balance as he practiced standing. Kup had a feeling it would not be long now until their little sparking would be walking. Fortunately the warm cycle had arrived and the clearing was carpeted with soft metallo-grasses and pretty crystal flowers. Their little sparkling's sapling was growing bigger, it was now as high as Kup's helm and the slender trunk was wider around. Their sparkling's tree had sprouted several new branches and many soft tender leaves.

They had been forced to keep an optic on their sparklings tree carefully since many of the mechano-animals seemed to like their sparkling's tree a bit too much. Kup had had to shoot several metal-moles trying to burrow around their sapling's roots as well as having Reflector ...feed on the many silica-sparrows and dynamo-deer that tried to harm their sparkling's vulnerable sapling tree.

At the moment, Reflector's other frames were within their tree resting and Kup came over to watch their sparkling so Spectro could rest. Orion looked up as Spectro stood up and headed for his tree before Orion burbled up at Kup and held up his ball beseechingly.

"Alrigh' Orion, we'll play with yer ball. Roll 'er ta papa!"

Orion smiled up at Kup and, with a mischeivious look, lobbed the ball to the side then laughed. Kup shook his helm and mock-glared at his little Orion who was giving his papa a smug little grin.

"Ah bet ya think yer funny?"

Kup leaned down and began to tickle little Orion into submission, making the clearing ring with tinkling sparkling laughter and giggles. Kup let his sparkling intake air and headed to fetch his ornery little bitling's ball. He began to look through the bushes and shrubs that lined the clearing.

A sudden shriek from behind had Kup sprinting back towards his sparking, only for his spark to freeze in it's chamber.

There, standing far too close to his precious little Orion, was a sleipneir. It was mangy and had faded stains of mech energon on it's muzzle. It was standing between Reflector and Orion as well. Reflector's frames were standing there hesitating over whether to try to rush over to snatch up their sparkling. Kup summoned his ancient laser-musket, he had had it ever since he had briefly served with the Magnus' military and he had kept in good order ever since.

Kup drew his laser musket to his shoulder and quickly drew his sights onto the sleipneir. Orion wailed as the sleipneir snuffled around the mat and moved closer, it's long tongue flicked out and licked Orion along his tiny chest.

Kup waited a nano-sec before he pulled the trigger. The sleipneir's helm shattered and it's limp frame collapsed next to the mat. Reflector dashed forward and scooped up their sparkliing. Orion wailed as Kup ran towards his little family, anxious to see that Orion was okay.

Reflector lightly bounced Orion trying to calm him down while his Viewfinder frame wipped away the gore that had splattered him from the deactivated sleipneir. Kup ran a servo over Orion's faceplates and pressed a kiss to the top of his sparkling's helm. Orion looked up at him with huge optics filled with lubricants, and Kup felt his spark break.

They almost lost their sparkling!

They had almost lost their precious precious Orion to that foul beast.

Kup would have to take measures.

\-------------------------------------------

It had taken quite some time, the warm cycle was nearly over but Kup had finished building his protection for their sparkling. He had surrounded a large portion of the clearing with a good stout fence that enclosed the area around his cabin and Orion's tree. Reflector's tree and a portion of the clearing had to remain open, so Reflector could hunt and feed.

Little Orion was able to toddle around on his peds a bit now, and was getting into everything so Kup was greatful that Orion was corraled by the fence and gate. Kup loved that his sparkling was kept safe and his bonded could hunt in peace.

It was a great relief on his mind.

Kup walked through the forest, his axe on his shoulder as he headed to where Reflector said a large tree had come down. He moved around the disheveled limbs and paused at the sound of somebot swearing.

"Primus forsaken tree! Fragging stupid thing! Slag! Slag! Slag!"

Kup moved around the last of the branches and saw...a very small mech, all in red. The little mech had one leg trapped under the fallen tree, and glared up at Kup as he moved closer.

"Great! Now I get caught by a fragging woodcutter! Slagging perfect!"

Kup shifted and looked at the smaller mech, "Do yah need help?"

The trapped mech gave Kup a look as though he was glitched. The mech then looked harder at the cloak Kup was wearing. "Wait, are you Reflector's mech?"

Kup blinked and looked down at the cloak, "Yeah, ah am. What of it?"

"Well, if anyone had to find me at least you aren't too bad! Now get me out of here!"

Kup gave the mech an unamused look, and hefted his axe. With one good swing the axe split the tip of the trunk off. The little mech hopped up as soon as he freed and tried to flee only to get plucked up by Kup.

Kup stared at the small mech, no bigger than a youngling, as he struggled in Kup's hold. "Ah believe yah owe meh somethin', seein' as ah caught ya an' all."

The little mech glared at Kup, then snapped his fingers and a large crock filled with credit chips appeared. "There! Now, let me go!"

Kup just held onto the mech and gave him a look, "An'?"

The mech gave an even blacker glare to Kup, before he sighed in resentment and drew a small fife from his subspace. "There! Use the fife to summon me for your fragging wishes!"

Kup let go and the little mech ran off as soon as his peds touched ground.

\-------------------------------------

When Kup returned home, Reflector came up to him as he sat down by Orion who was once again chasing his ball around the fenced in area. "My Kup, is it true that you caught Cliffjumper?"

Kup looked at Reflector in surprise, "Cliffjumper? Little red mech? 'Bout as big a youngling?"

Reflector stared at Kup before laughing, "That would be him my Kup. I take it you did catch him then?"

Kup grinned and reached into his subspace and pulled out the crock of credit chips. "Ah did. He was stuck un'er tha tree ah went to cut."

Reflector stared up at him before bursting out laughing, "Cliffjumper was stuck under a tree and you caught him that way?"

At Kup's nod, Reflector began to laugh once more. "He will never live that down, my Kup. Never!"

Kup looked at his bonded and laughed as well as he drew Reflector against him and pressed a soft kiss to each frames helm.

Spyglass looked up at Kup, "Did you remember to get your wishes? I know Cliffjumper is a tricky leprechaun, the seelie court says so and that he is too mischeivious for them sometimes."

Kup chuckled, "Ah remembered, sweetspark. He gave meh a summoning fife. Ah want to save the wishes fer something important. In case something happens and ah need help, or you and Orion do."

Reflector looked up at Kup with loving optics, "You take such good care of us. I swear no dryad has ever been so happy or so loved as Orion and I are!"

Kup could only smile at that declaration and drew two of Reflector's frames away to their berthroom in his cabin.

\--------------------------

The warm season slowly drew to a close, and Orion grew bigger every sol. He was walking very well now, and even taking a few short staggering runs on occasion. Orion's tiny sapling had grown higher than Kup's helm and Reflector had been surprised at how many leaves it had for it's first stellar cycle.

Kup watched Orion chase after his ball as usual, with his sparkling stopping to nibble the sparkling crystals that surrounded his sapling. Orion loved to nibble his crystals and Kup had had to go and buy several more varieties that were more nutritious since he had worried that Orion was only getting sweet crystals.

Orion was very smart, he would chirp at everything as he looked it over and often tasted things. Kup watched as Orion toddled over to him with a large smile on his little faceplates. Orion burbled up at him and held up a piece of crystal and made the sparkling chirp for papa.

"Fer meh, Orion? Thank yah."

Orion beamed up at him and chirped happily up at him. Orion got a strange look on his faceplates and his mouth moved but nothing came out. Kup knelt down and looked at Orion in worry, "Yah okay, Orion? Show Papa Kup where it hurts."

Orion moved his mouth a few more times and nothing came out. Then Orion got a very determined look on his faceplates and then looked up at Kup and made a soft 'pp' sound.

"Orion? What's wrong sweetspark?"

Orion looked up at Kup and gave him a sweet smile, "P-papa!"

Kup sat down hard and stared at Orion. He drew his sparkling to him, "Say that again, Orion?"

Orion looked up at Kup and smiled, "Papa! Papa!"

Kup yelled out, "Reflector, come here!"

Reflector came over with all three of his frames, "Kup, what is wrong? Is Orion alright?"

Kup beckoned to Reflector to come over, and pointed at the three frames of Reflector "Orion, who is this? Who is this?"

Reflector looked at Kup in curiosity that changed to delighted surprise when Orion pointed at them and chirped out, "Papa! Papa! Papa!"

Reflector lifted up Orion, "Oh, Orion! Such a smart sparkling!"

\-------------------------

Kup walked back to his cabin, excited to get back to his sparkling. He had gone to the village and purchased a set of datapads that contained the downloads that his sparkling would need. He would get Orion the very best of everything he could. He had spoken with the village medic and had explained that he had bonded to a very shy mech who would not come into the village. He claimed that his bonded had demanded to have a 'natural separation' and would not let his sparkling come into the village.

The medic had railed at the supposed superstitiousness of Kup's bonded but had sold the datapads to Kup and explained how to download the files to his sparkling. Kup had thanked the medic and then headed over to the village store to pick out several presents for his bondeds and for Orion. He could hardly wait to see their faceplates at the gifts he brought them.

He soon reached the fence surrounding the cabin and Orion's tree. He walked inside the fence and moved to where Reflector and Orion were playing by Orion's tree. "Hello my sweetsparks!"

Orion looked over and ran squealing over to Kup, "Papa! Papa!"

Reflector moved over to Kup and kissed him with each frame. "Welcome back, Kup!"

Kup returned Reflector's kisses and scooped up Orion. "Were yah good fer yer papa Reflector?"

Orion nodded and made a sparkling chirp of want as he waved his servos up at Kup beseechingly. Kup laughed and reached into his subspace, "Let meh see what ah have fer such a good little sparklin'"

Kup drew out a little drawing datapad, a small doll of a pretty truckbot mech and a miniature set of gardening tools. Orion's optics grew huge as he gazed upon his gifts with wonder. Orion grabbed up the pretty doll and a small solvent can from the gardening tools and clutched them to him as he made sparking chirps of joy and 'mine!' over and over.

Kup turned to Reflector and reached into his subspace again. He pulled out a pretty wrap for each of his frames, a lovely set of cubes filled with high grade and two more wind chimes so each trunk of Reflector's tree would have a wind chime. Reflector cooed over their gifts and pressed many kisses to Kup. Kup simply grinned and sat down on the soft mechano-grasses and watched his little sparkling carefully pretend to tend his crystals, although he nibbled more than he tended.

Life was good.

\-----------------------------

The cooling cycle had begun, and Kup could tell Orion was scared and confused as his little tree began to have it's leaves change color and fall to the ground. The first time a leaf had fallen, Orion had grabbed it and run crying to Kup and Reflector, holding it up and sobbing.

Reflector had explained to Orion that his tree was simply getting ready for the long recharge that was coming up in the cold cycle. Orion had seemed confused about the whole idea and Kup only hoped that Orion would be okay.

Kup made sure his sparkling studied his learning datapads. He may go to the village and order school pads to teach Orion, since his sparkling was smart. Orion seemed to grow smarter every sol. Orion had even looked up how to properly tend to his crystals and could be seen every sol carefully tending to them.

Kup looked out the window of his cabin and could see Orion carefully pouring solvents over the crystals. His little Orion was such a responsible little sparkling. He would be sure to not over graze his crystals and would rotate through them to be sure to leave plenty to grow. Orion was a good gardener.

Reflector was teaching Orion everything he needed to know to be a good dryad and get ready for their recharge. Orion kept insisting that he wasn't tired and didn't need to nap for that long or at all. Reflector promised Orion that when they woke up in the thaw cycle that Orion would be bigger and older but Orion didn't seem to care. Orion just tidied up his 'garden' that surrounded his tree and carefully raked up the leaves that fell from his tree. Kup had taken several of the leaves and had carefully put them in a press to preserve them.

Kup headed outside and moved to where Orion was carefully raking his leaves away from his tree. Orion beamed up at him and pointed at the little piles he had made. "Look papa! I cleaned up! See papa!"

Kup patted Orion on the helm, "Ah see, Orion. Yer such a good sparklin'!"

Orion looked thrilled at the praise, but suddenly froze and stared up at the sky. He whimpered and drew up close to Kup. Orion pointed to the sky and whispered, "Papa, what is that?"

Kup looked up at the sky and saw the first few flakes of snow lightly drifted towards the ground. Kup turned to Orion and patted him on the head, "It's alright, bitling. It's just snow, it's harmless."

Orion looked at it warily, "I don't like it papa! Make it go away!"

Kup just laughed and cuddled Orion to his side.

\-------------------------------------

Kup felt like his spark would break. It was the first sol of the cold cycle and Orion and Relfector would be going into their cycle long recharges. He hated how he was left by himself through the cold cycle, no loving bonded or wonderful sparkling to play with.

Kup would be alone.

He had already decided to work on preparing some larger gardens for Orion and setting up some crystal bushes on Reflector's side of the fence to help lure in prey for his bonded to feed on. It would take awhile to get everything finished. When it was too bad to go outside, Kup had selected several seasoned peices of wood to make into a small table with a bench for Orion to sit at as well making Reflector a proper loom.

Orion ran in and clung to Kup's leg. "Papa! I'ma big bot! I don't wanna nap! Wanna stay awake with you! Please, Papa?"

"Ah wish yah could, sparklin'. But yah gotta, just like Papa Reflector."

Kup scooped up Orion and carried him back to his tree, where Reflector was waiting. Reflector gave Orion a hug and kiss from each frame, then Kup did the same thing. Reflector then took Orion and gently placed him within his tree. Reflector then turned to Kup and each frame gave him a deep searing kisses before fading into their respective tree trunks.

Kup shook his helm, it was hard to love dryads at times.

\-----

Kup headed back to his cabin, a load of wood in his arms and a large bundle strapped to his back. He stopped inside the fence to put down the wood on the large woodpile he had built up this stellar cycle. As he was stacking the wood, he heard a soft chirp from behind him. Turning around he saw a small servo slip from Orion's tree followed by his little sparkling himself. Kup ran over and scooped up his sparkling fearful of him being damaged by the cold with his unprotected protoform.

Kup carried Orion into the cabin, and set him to warm in his chair by the fire. "Orion, what are yeh doing out? Yah just went into yer tree a decacycle ago! Yah should still be in recharge!"

Orion looked up at Kup as Kup went to his cupboard and drew out several heating blankets and wrapped them around Orion. "Not tired papa! I am a big bot! I don't need a nap!"

Kup chuckled softly as he saw a look on Orion's face that knew he got from him. "Alright, no nap. Ah don't know how we'll tell yer papa 'bout this."

Orion snuggled deeper into the blankets and looked around the cabin curiously. Orion didn't come into the cabin very often, since he preferred to be outside with his tree and his little garden. Orion sat up and chirped in his excitement when he saw the carvings that Kup had done on the support beams for the roof. There were four of them, and two of them were carved intricately. One was carved with images of forest mechano-animals and the supernatural beings all over. The second was carved with with images of Reflector's three frames as well as their tree.

Orion hopped off the chair and walked over to over to the pillar and cuddled against the carving of Reflector. He chirped up at the carving and then looked back at Kup with a large grin. "Papa! It's papa! Look, it's Papa!"

Kup laughed as he patted Orion on the helm, "Yep, that's yer papa. That came out real well, ah think. Ah'll be carving yah this cold cycle."

Orion looked up at Kup with wide optics, "Carve me, Papa? Will it hurt?"

Kup groaned as he knelt down and drew his sparkling to him laughing, "Not gonna hurt ya ever, bitling. Gonna make a picture of yah is all."

Orion looked at Kup curiously, "Make picture? How?"

Kup picked up Orion and walked back to the chair by the fire, and sat Orion on his good knee. Kup reached onto the side table and grabbed a half-finished carving of a cyberfly. He showed it to Orion, "See Orion? Papa Kup carves the picture? See the cyberfly?"

Orion watched with wide optics as Kup took his whittling knife from his subspace and began to work on the cyberfly.  Orion put his little servo out and patted the pretty little cyberfly, "Pretty papa! Pretty! For me, Papa? For me?"

Kup chuckled and pressed a kiss to Orion's helm. "Yeh sweetspark, fer yah."

\-------------------------

 Kup had been dreading this sol, he needed to go to the village for more supplies but he didn't want to leave Orion by himself and his little one could not go far enough from his tree to make the trip with him.

He wished Orion could come with him, but that was impossib- wait. Maybe it wasn't impossible. Kup reached into his subspace and pulled out the fife he'd gotten when he had caught the leprechaun, Cliffjumper. He put the fife to his lip plates and played a short tune and waited.

With a puff if smoke, that had Orion scurrying behind Kup, the grumpy little mech appeared. "What do you want?"

Kup looked back at Orion and smiled at him comfortingly, before he turned back to Cliffjumper. "Can yeh make it so Orion can come with meh ta the village?"

Cliffjumper gave an unimpressed look at Kup, "That is what ya want for your first wish? Fine."

Cliffjumper pulled out two small charms, and gave them to Kup. "Put one on his tree and he wears the other. It will keep them linked so he can go farther away from it. You can't go much further than the village though. Even this has limits!"

Kup took the charms and turned to Orion and slipped one around his neck. Kup turned back to Cliffjumper, "Thank ya, Cliffjumper. Sorry ta bother ya. Ya can go if ya want."

Cliffjumper grumbled and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Kup turned to Orion, "Alright, bitling. Looks like yer gonna come with meh this time. Let's get yah bundled up and ready."

Orion gave Kup a wide-opticed look. "Go? I get to go with Papa?"

Kup went to the cupboard and drew out several thick blankets and bundled Orion until only his optics were visible. Kup put on his scarf and then scooped up Orion into his arms. Kup took Orion around back to his little tree and placed the second charm on one of the branches. Orion leaned out of Kup's arms and gave his tree a kiss.

Once Orion had kissed his tree, Kup hefted him into a better position and began to head towards the village. He moved slowly, making sure Orion was okay the further they got from his tree. Orion looked around in excitment, wanting to see everything. Kup trudged through the snow and soon reached the village.

Orion drew back against Kup at the sight of all the other bots moving about and stared about with dazed optics. Kup headed into the store and greeted Quick Trade, who stared at the bundled Orion. "Hello, Kup. Who is this?"

Kup slipped the bundled blankets away from Orion's helm and hefted him up so Orion was sitting higher on his hip. "This is mah little bitling, Orion. Orion say hello to Quick Trade."

Orion ducked his helm bashfully, and gave a small smile to Quick Trade. Quick Trade gave a small 'awww' at the cute little sparkling. Kup watched as Quick Trade reached into a jar of crystal sticks and handed one to Orion. "A sweet little sparkling deserves a sweet treat."

Orion looked up at Kup and Kup took the crystal from Quick Trade for Orion. Orion took the crystal from Kup and popped it into his mouth and began nibbling on it slowly. "You have a very adorable sparkling, Kup."

Kup smiled at Orion before turning to Quick Trade, "Yes, ah do. Ah need to get a few things, Trade."

"Alright, Kup. What do you need?"

\------

Kup walked out of the store, a basket of supplies strapped to his back and Orion bundled up in his arms in a new warm coat and little boots as well as little helm fin warmers that had made Orion purr when Kup slipped them on. Kup began to head back to the cabin and listened as Orion talked about all the things they had seen as well as tried to answer all the questions that Orion had about things in the village.

Orion perked up as they approached the clearing the cabin was in and he could see Reflector's tree. "Papa, we wake up Papa 'Flector? Wanna show him my warmers!"

Kup chuckled and tweaked Orion's nose. "Ah don't think he'll wake up, sweetspark. We can try after ah set down this basket in tha cabin."

Orion beamed up at Kup and gave him a hug before he began to tug on the straps for the basket, "I help papa! I carry the basket in! I can carry!"

Kup laughed then set Orion down once they reached the path in front of the cabin. Orion began to bounce on his peds, "I carry papa! I carry!"

Kup reached into the basket and pulled out a small bundle. "Here Orion, yah c'n carry this in."

Orion carried in his little bundle, setting it proudly on the table in the cabin. "There! I did it, see Papa! I carried it!"

Kup patted him on the head, "Yeh did, Orion. Yeh did good. Such a strong little bitling!"

Orion puffed up with pride, "I is the best! Best carry-er ever! Me!"

Kup just laughed as he set the basket down. "Let's go see if yah can wake yer papa."

He picked up Orion and carried him out to Reflector's tree. Kup set Orion down beside the tree trunks and Orion walked up to the trunks. "Papa, Papa! Papa wake up! Papa! Papa! Papa, look!"

Orion knocked on the trunk with his little fists, but nothing happened. Orion got a stubborn look on his faceplates, and then to Kup's surprise Orion stuck his little servo inside Reflector's trunk. "Papa! Wake up! Papa!"

A dazed looking Viewfinder poked his helm out and looked blearily down at Orion. "Orion? Sparkling, what are doing up in the middle of the cold cycle?"

Orion beamed up at Viewfinder, "Look Papa! I have warmers! See! See!"

Viewfinder looked at Orion then turned to Kup, "What? Where did-?"

Kup pressed a kiss to Viewfinder. "'E woke up two decacycles ago. Ah took him ta tha village and got him some warm things."

Viewfinder seemed to wake up at that, "To the village!? How did he-?"

Kup put his fingers over Viewfinder's mouth, "Ah used a wish from Cliffjumper for a charm so Orion could go further from his tree."

Viewfinder looked stunned, then turned to Orion. "You look lovely sweetspark. But I need to go back into recharge. I love you both."

Viewfinder pressed a kiss to Orion's helm and then a kiss to Kup's lips before ducking back inside his tree trunk for the cold cycle.

Kup picked up Orion, "Come on, bitling. Let's go back inside. Ah'll warm some crystal paste fer ya."

Orion curled up in Kup's arms and snuggled against his papa.

\---------------------

Kup looked over at Orion, who was tucked into his little recharge berth in a stasis nap. Satisfied that Orion was fine, Kup returned to carving the support pillar. He had decided to carve this pillar in a different manner. He would carve a little bit of the pillar each cold cycle with images of Orion from that Stellar cycle.

For this stellar cycle, he would carve Orion's sapling being planted and Orion emerging. Possibly even Orion in his helm fin warmers since he loved them so much. Kup had not decided yet. He would work on this for a joor or so each sol.

He had already made several other things for Orion. He had made a second smaller version of his comfy chair by the fire for his sparkling as well many tiny carvings. He had carved cyberflies, petro-rabbits, even a small chair for Orion's mech doll. Orion said his doll was a princess mech like in the stories he would read to his sparkling. Kup was secretly working on a gift for Orion for on his emerging sol, since he didn't really have an onlining sol.

He was making a doll house for his bitling, a lovely intricate doll castle for his princess mech. One with a large tower suitable for a princess mech. Kup had already begun to carve miniature furniture for the doll house, carving each piece to be as beautiful as he could.

He had begun work on a small harp as well, since Orion tended to hum and sing while he worked on his little garden. Kup knew he would love the harp.

Orion hopped out of his little berth and sat down next to Kup. He leaned against his papa and watched him carve the pillar. "Is that me papa? Me?"

Kup hugged Orion with one arm, "Yes. bitling. That's yah."

\------------

 Kup watched as Orion ran past him to the top of the small hill that was near by. Kup smiled as Orion screamed as he slid down the hill on his little sled, then hopped off and dragged it back up the hill to go again. His sparkling seemed to love that sled.

 The cold cycle was beginning to end, and the warming cycle would soon be here. Kup had told Orion that his Papa Reflector would be awake again soon, and Orion had said that they had to make something for Reflector. So Kup and Orion had made a crystal cake together. One which a certain sparkling had been nibbling on when he thought his papa wasn't looking.

 Silly sparkling.

 Kup had begun to get ready to add the nutrient solvents and fertilizers to Reflector's tree as well as Orion's. His sparkling had watched with curious optics and asked dozens of questions about everything. Orion had even asked if he could have some of them for his crystals, to help them grow too.

 Kup would never deny his sparkling something so easy and had agreed to give some for his crystals. Orion had been overjoyed and had hurried over to his drawing pad. There he had carefully, for a sparkling, drawn out a picture of his little garden and then had made plans to make it bigger.

What was Kup supposed to do when his adorable little sparkling climbed on his lap and asked for more seed crystals? Especially when Orion looked up at him with those big optics that silently begged for him.

So when Kup had gone to the village for supplies next, he had taken Orion with him and had Quick Trade help Orion pick out crystals. They had ended up with a dozen types of crystals, nine were edible for Orion and the remaining three were made up of two decorative crystals and one that was meant for carving.

He suspected that his sparkling would be asking for lessons on carving crystals soon.

Oh well, at least he had managed to convince Orion that the red cora crystals would not be perfect for his garden and had instead gotten blue cora and white.

Privately, Kup was uncertain that he would survive if Reflector was anywhere near red cora.

\---------------------

Orion looked up at his tree and frowned as he then looked at Papa Reflector's tree. He then looked at the cabin where he had spent the cold cycle with Papa Kup. Orion turned to Papa Kup and gave him a puzzled look. "Papa Kup? Where is your tree? Do you have a set of charms too?"

Papa Kup made a funny sound and spit out the nasty energon stuff he had just swallowed. Papa looked down at him and pointed at himself, "Ah don't have a tree, Orion. Dryads like yeh and yer Papa Reflector are the ones who have trees and all. Ah'm a mech, a truckbot, ah have armor and an altmode instead of a tree."

Orion looked at Papa Kup confused, "Papa? What is an altmode? And what's armor?"

Papa Kup sighed, "It's like this Orion. Yah know how yer in yer protoform? An' ah ain't?"

Orion nodded, he had noticed when they went into the village that no one was in protoform like him at all. It was stange; everyone was all...lumpy, like papa Kup.

Papa Kup smiled at him, "Well mah armor is what ah have on over mah protoform. Dryads like yah and yer Papa Reflector have yer trees fer yer armor. Understand now?"

Orion thought about it for a moment before he nodded. "But Papa, what is an 'altmode'?"

Papa Kup moved away from Orion and then...did something, and papa Kup was gone! There was a big truck like the toy one Papa Kup had carved for him in his place! "Papa?! Papa! Where are you! Papa! Come back! Please? Papa!"

The truck did the same ...thing as before and Papa Kup was back in front of him. He ran to Papa Kup and cuddled against him hard, never wanting to let go ever. "Papa! Papa! Never go away! Papa!"

Papa Kup cuddled him back and lifted him up in his arms. "Calm down Orion, it's okay. That was my altmode. I turn into, transform, into the truck. It's still me though. Promise!"

Orion looked up at his papa like he was not sure if he believed him or not, but kept cuddling his papa. He didn't want his papa to go away again! Papa Reflector was still in his recharge inside his tree and he would be all alone without Papa Kup!

Papa Kup hugged him close for a few breems, until Orion felt a bit better and then to Orion's shock and horror Papa did the... thing again. Orion suddenly found himself sitting in the truckbed of the big truck and was frightened. Where was his Papa Kup? He was all alone! His little spark ached with sadness and fear, only to feel Papa Kup's warm spark reach out to his little one.

Orion looked around franticly for his papa. "Papa?! Papa! Where are you, Papa!?"

Papa Kup laughed from somewhere and the truck shook lightly beneath him, "Orion, it's meh yah silly sparklin'!"

Orion knew that this was a trick! He knew it!

Orion poked at the truck, "Not the Papa! Not the Papa! Want Papa!"

The truck rocked a little, "Behave sparklin'! It's meh!"

Then the truck began to twist and turn so Orion paid close attention so he could prove it was not Papa Kup, but to his amazment it was! Orion stared at Papa Kup in wonder.

His papa... his papa was /magic//!

"Papa! You is magic! Magic papa! Papa teach me? Please?"

Papa Kup looked sad, "S'rry, bitling. Dryads...dryads don't have altmodes. 'M s'rry sweetspark."

Orion gave his papa an upset look, "But..but... Not fair papa! I want ta be magic like Papa Kup! Magic Papa! Magic!"

"Ah know it's not fair, bitling. But that's how it is fer dryads."

Orion will see about that.

 


	2. Changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Orion continues to grow up, and has various adventures.

The next sol, Kup began cleaning the cabin out to get ready for Reflector emerging from his tree. Reflector always went into a frenzy cleaning up when he emerged. He claimed that it was because in the cold cycle the ground was too hard to absorb his prey so he had to tidy up around his tree every warming cycle.

All Kup knew was that it was pain in the aft. And his back. And his knees.

Kup started with Orion's little room. It was fairly tidy though. His little bitling was a neat sparkling and picked up after himself most of the time. Kup knew he was lucky in that at least.

Kup had just begun to rake out the ashes in the fireplace when he heard Orion call for him from outside, "Papa! Come see! Come see!"

Kup walked outside and had to fight to stop from laughing. Orion was standing there so proudly: covered in broken branches from the shrubs and bushes surrounding the clearing. "Look Papa! I has armor now! And watch this!"

Orion made sounds similar to when Kup had transformed and sat down with his knees to his chest and the arranged the branches so he was somewhat covered in them again. "See papa! I has an altmode too!"

Kup managed to keep a straight face as he looked at his sparkling. "Ah see Orion. Ya look amazin'!"

Orion beamed at Kup and then set off around the fenced in area, stopping every so often to 'transform' into his 'altmode'. Kup waited until Orion was a good bit away, then went into the house and buried his helm in his berth so he could muffle his laughing.

His sparkling was so precious and adorable.

\----------------------------

Reflector stared at their sparkling. It had been two decacycles since he had emerged from his tree for the thaw cycle. Two decacycles since he had woken from his cycle long recharge.

Two decacycles of his sparkling running around covered in branches and pretending to transform. Apparently Orion was a Dryad who had a bizarre hodge-podge bush for an 'altmode'.

To say he was concerned was an understatement.

He was well aware of his Kup's ability to become a 'truck' but had no idea their sparkling would want one. Dryads did not have altmodes.

Perhaps Orion needed to spend some time with other sparklings?  Other sparklings would be nice for Orion to play with. He knew that there were other beings with sparklings in the forest, even if the other dryad saplings were too far away to come.

Reflector would need to think about this.

\--------------------

Orion knew that this was the sol! This was the perfect sol to have an /adventure//!

He knew it!

Papa Kup and Papa 'Flector were off being all icky again, so now was his chance! He moved towards the gate as quietly as he could in his altmode. He was the bestest at being in altmode ever!

Orion took one last look back at his papas before he ran to the trees around the clearing he and his papas lived in. The trees here were different than his tree or Papa 'Flector's tree. They felt...muted, quieter than his tree was. It was like these trees were only shadows and his tree was real.

It was weird.

Orion moved through the odd trees and looked at all the strange plants and crystals that grew everywhere. He was a brave adventurer and would explore everything!

And exploring meant tasting!

Orion broke off and nibbled on every crystal he could, and broke off extra bits to put in one of Papa Kup's smallest baskets. He had taken it from the hearth were it usually sat filled with things to make a fire with and he had emptied it out so he could fill it with crystals. The best crystals!

Orion was nibbling on a new crystal when he heard a rustling sound from behind him, but when he looked there was nothing there! He went back to the crystal and broke off more bits because it was so yummy! Suddenly, a branch snapped behind him!

Orion jumped as he saw a big lizard with huge yellow optic staring at him. "Who are you?"

Orion blinked in surprise, Papa Kup had never said that there were huge talking lizards in the forest. "I'm Orion. Who are you?"

"You smell like sweet crystals and flowers Orion! My name is Dion!"

Orion looked at Dion. He was very strange but he was his new friend. Dion nudged Orion's basket, "Can I have some? I love crystals!"

Orion held up on of the sweet crystals he had found and giggled as Dion swept out his long long tongue to gobble up the crystal! Orion knew then that Dion would be his bestest friend.

Orion and Dion walked together in the forest, and they nibbled on all the crystals they found. Orion was just begining to feel tired when he heard his papas call for him.

Orion looked behind him and could see his Papa Kup head for him and his new friend. Papa Kup walked into the clearing the two sparklings were in and suddenly froze. "Orion, ah need yah ta move over here, slowly okay?"

Orion looked at his Papa in confusion, "Papa, what's wrong? I want to keep playing with Dion, he's my bestest friend! Bestest bestest!"

Papa Kup gave an odd strangled sound, "Orion, that ain't a friend fer yah. That's a basilisk chick! He'll turn yah ta stone!"

Orion blinked, "No he won't! He's my friend."

Papa Kup growled, "Sparklin', get over here now! Yer comin' home!"

Orion pouted, papas ruined all his fun! He turned to Dion and gave him a hug goodbye. "I gotta go, Dion. I'll see you later!"

With that Orion went over to Papa Kup and was scooped up into Papa Kup's arms. Papa Kup backed away from the clearing and Dion, then ran with Orion tucked tight against him.

Papa Kup is being silly, Dion is his bestest friend!

\-----------------------------

Kup hated to admit it, but he had been wrong. He had thought Orion would be just fine as he was, that there was no need to bring in other sparklings as playmates but he had been proven wrong by the basilisk chick incident.

So they were inviting others to bring their sparklings to meet and play with Orion.

Reflector had spoken to the trees and sent out invitations to "suitable" playmates. What exactly that meant Kup didn't know. All Kup knew was that their guests were due to show up any breem and Orion was beyond excited. 

A loud booming sound filled the air, and Reflector emerged from their tree with a grin on all three frame's faces. "Good, Bouldermoss and Rockslide brought their sparkling!"

Kup looked out and saw three large beings made of stone. Reflector beckoned Orion over, "Orion this is Boulder and Rockslide. They brought their sparkling Bulkhead to meet you and spend some time playing with you."

Orion stared up at the huge sparkling before turning back to Reflector, "Sparkling? He so big!"

Boulder and Rockslide laughed, "We Rockbiters are very big, it is true, but Bulkhead is about your age little dryad."

Orion walked over to Bulkhead and smiled, "You want to see my garden? I grow yummy crystals! You can- What's that?"

Orion pointed at Bulkhead's shoulder. Kup looked to see what Orion was looking at, only for Bulkhead to blush. "This is my friend Bumblebee. He wanted to come meet you too. We've never met a dryad before."

Bouldermoss looked at Bulkhead aghast, "Sparkling! His papas will be so worried!"

Reflector laughed, "I will have the tree let Blades and Giget know their sparkling is here. Orion this is Bumblebee. He is a gnome."

Bulkhead nodded, "Yes, he is a gnome! He lives in the mountain near us! He finds tasty rocks for me to eat all the time!" 

Orion looked at Bulkhead, "You eat rocks? Can you have crystals? Crystals are better than rocks I bet!"

Bulkhead shook his helm, "I like rocks best. Nice solid crunchy rocks."

A sudden gust of wind followed by a blast of heat cut of the sparkling's conversation and heralded the arrival of the final two groups. Orion stared in amazment at two beautiful avians made of flames who perched on the fence around his home but didn't burn it. Next to them, three nearly transparent mechs sat on the fence posts as well.

Reflector turned to them and greeted them as well, "Hello Springer, I see you brought your little brother to play with Orion. Hello Hot Rod! Starscream, you are looking well. I am glad you brought your twins to meet Orion."

Reflector turned Orion towards the new mechs, "Orion, this is Springer and his younger brother Hot Rod. As you can see they are Fireavians. And this is Starscream and his sparklings, Jetfire and Jetstorm. They are sylphs. I am sure you will all be good friends. Why don't you sparkling run along and go play." 

Orion lead the five sparklings over to the garden by his tree. Once the sparklings were gone, Reflector turned to the adults, "Please come over to my tree. We have refreshments for you all to enjoy while the sparklings play."

\---------------------------

Orion was not sure about these new sparklings. They were so different from him! He was a little, just a teeny tiny bit, afraid of them. All of them except the little yellow gnome sparkling, Bumblebee, were so much bigger than him.

What if they broke his toys? He loved his toys! Papa Kup had made most of them for him! Just for him!

Orion led the other sparklings to his garden that surrounded his tree. The two twin bots, Jetfire and Jetstorm, gasped and ran over to his Silvian Sweet crystals. "Can we be trying some? It never be growing this big near us! Please let us be trying some, Orion?"

Orion blinked as he tried to understand what they had said then realized that they were asking to try his crystals. "I guess you can. Just be careful not to take too much, okay?"

The twins bots squealed and began to pich off little bites of the sweet crystals and gobble them down. Orion looked at Hot Rod, Bulkhead and Bumblebee. "You can have some too, if you want."

Hot Rod shook his helm, "No thanks, I eat fruit from the Elyios tree that grows near our home. Thanks for offering though."

Orion looked at Bulkhead and saw that Bumblebee was running back to Bulkhead holding a large rock that he held up for the larger sparkling to take. "Thanks Bee! This looks like a really good one!" The little sparkling climbed back up on Bulkhead and hide once more, only peeking out occasionally.

"Okay. What do you guys like to do? Do you know any fun games?" Orion figured he should ask them. After all this is why his papa invited them over.

The twins popped up from gobbling crystals, "We could play 'hide and seek'! One person is it and everyone else has to hide. The person tagged by the one who is it, becomes it."

Well, that didn't sound too hard. "Okay. Who will be 'it'?"

Hot Rod stepped forward, "I'll be it first. I am the best finder ever! You'll see!"

With that Hot Rod closed his optics and began to count. Orion saw the other sparklings run and hide so he went to his favorite spot: he hid inside his tree.

\------

After everyone had been it three times except for him, Orion had to wonder if perhaps his hiding spot was /too// good. He peeked his helm out of his tree and then slipped out all the way. He looked around and saw Hot Rod and the twins talking to Bulkhead and looking worried. "What if he got lost?"

Orion walked over, "Who is lost?"

Hot Rod turned to him in surprise, "You are! Orion! You're alright! You're here!"

Orion blinked in surprise, "Where else would I be?"

The twins hugged him suddenly, startling him quite badly. "You were being losted, Orion. But now you are being found and safe."

Orion was about to reply when his papas and the papas of the other sparklings came over to where they were. "Alright, sparklings, I know you are all having fun but it's time for you to go home now. You can come back another sol."

Each of the other sparklings gave Orion a hug and said goodbye, then left with their papas.

Papa Kup came over, "Did ya have fun bitling?"

Orion thought for a moment before answering, "Yes papa! I had fun, but I think I hid too good."

Papa Kup laughed and picked him up, "Where did ya hide?"

Orion blinked up at his papa, "In my tree."

Orion didn't know why that made Papa Kup laugh so hard and papa wouldn't explain.

Not Fair!

\-----------------------------

Orion slipped away from the cabin and out the fence. He was going to find Dion! He had not seen his bestest friend since Papa Kup had carried him away from Dion. He missed him. His papas were being silly, they kept saying that Dion was dangerous and that the sparklings he was playing with once a decacycle would be his friends.

They were his friends but Dion was his bestest friend!

The woods were darker than he remembered from before and it was a little scary without Dion beside him. He moved through the forest carefully, stopping to pick crystals now and then. He wanted to have some to share with Dion, since he had liked them so much last time.

Finally, Orion heard the familiar sound of Dion's ped-steps and rushed towards them. He burst out into a small clearing and saw Dion. Dion however was not alone, two big versions of Dion who were his papa most likely were with him. "Dion! Hi! I brought you crystals! Are those your papas? Would they like some crystals too?"

Dion never had a chance to answer though, his papas roared and lunged at Orion. Orion shrieked and backed away as they snapped their nasty looking dente far too close to his plating. He ran from the clearing, not looking where he was going but simply running /away//.

Soon Orion found himself in a part of the forest he had never seen before, the trees were huge and cast dark shadows that made Orion scared. He wanted to go home and curl up in his little tree. He wanted his papas!

He couldn't see anything familiar and wandered around, lost and scared. After a joor or two, Orion sat down under a large tree and began to cry, optical lubricants streaking down his cheeks. He could drop the medallion Papa Kup had gave him but then he would never find it again. Without it, he could never go to the village with Papa Kup again or explore the forest or visit the other sparkling's homes like Papa Kup said they would.

He couldn't let his papa down!

The sound of soft ped-steps made Orion look up, and he saw...nothing. There was no one about but he could hear ped-steps growing nearer. As the ped-steps drew closer to him, he could even see the leaves and twigs being stepped on, but no one was there!

The ped-steps stopped when they were not far away from him, and to his surprise he saw glow form before it faded and revealed a blue and white mech who looked at him curiously. "A little dryad sapling? How are you so far from your tree, little one?"

Orion looked up at the mech and sniffled, "I got lost. Can you help me find my papas? We live in a cabin by Papa 'Flector's tree."

The blue and white mech cocked his helm, "So your Kup and Reflector's sapling then? Follow me little one, I know someone who can lead you home."

Orion hopped up and followed the blue and white mech. They walked for a little while until they reached a cave, but by this time Orion was very very tired and he could barely stay on his peds. The blue and white mech moved to the mouth of the cave but said nothing, just stood there for a few breems.

To Orion's surprise, a large green mech with large antlers like a selios-stag came out and drew the blue and white mech into a hug. The green mech then turned and saw Orion. "Well, well, a little dryad sapling at my home? A lucky sol indeed. You're Kup and Reflector's seedling aren't you?"

Orion nodded and stared at the antlers on the mech's helm. "I want to go home!"

The green mech nodded and drew a horn from his subspace. He blew the horn and shortly after a selios-stag emerged from the forest. Before Orion could ask why he had called the selios-stag, the green mech scooped up Orion and set on the selios-stag's back. "He will take you home, now hold on tight."

With that, the selios-stag leaped away and bounded through the forest. It seemed like no time at all that the selios-stag came to halt just outside the clearing where Orion lived. He could see Papa Kup come out of the cabin and stare at him before he ran over and swept Orion off the selios-stag's back. As soon as Orion was off,  the selios-stag bounded away back into the forest. Papa Kup stared at the selios-stag then turned to Orion, "How did ya meet Hound, Orion? Where have ya been? Yah had us worried rusty!"

Orion just curled up against his papa and listened to his sparkbeat for a moment before falling into recharge.

=====================================

Kup looked down at his sparkling peacefully recharging in his arms and sighed. His little bitling was going to give him a spark attack some sol. He and Reflector had been frantic when they could not find him and had no idea where their precious Orion was. Reflector had begun to bemoan the myriad horrible fates that could await an unaware bot in the dark forest and Kup had hated to think that they might be right.

However, he had his sparkling in his arms again, that was the important thing! He carried Orion over towards Reflector, who rushed over as soon as they saw Orion in his arms. "Kup! You found him! Oh thank Primus! Is he okay? Is he hurt? Is he-"

"Bitling seems tah be just fine. Ah found him ridin' one ah Hound's selios-stags." Kup knew Reflector would realise what that meant.

Reflector froze and stared at Kup, "One- one of Hound's selios-stags? How did he meet Hound? How could he have gotten so deep in the forest?"

Kup shook his helm, "Ah have no idea. Ah am just glad he is safe. Why don'cha put him in his tree. Poor little bit must be exhausted."

Reflector carefully took Orion from Kup and had his Spectro frame take Orion to his sparkling's tree then carefully slipped the tired sparkling inside it.

Kup drew the remaining two frames against him as he relaxed for the first time since Orion had gone missing. Their sparkling was safe. He would have to leave a gift for Hound when he went to harvest the deadfalls next. You did not ignore when a being like Hound did you a favor, you left a gift as a thank you. If you didn't...well who knew what could happen.

\---------------------------------

Orion stomped around the cabin. His papas were mean! So mean! The meanest ever!

He plopped himself onto the floor beside the fireplace. His mean, mean papas had 'grounded' him for his adventure! Didn't they realize how brave he was? How mighty of an adverturebot he was! He had so much to find and explore and they were being so mean!

They had taken most of his toys away and Papa Kup had taken his charm and put both of them on Papa Reflector's tree. Now Papa Reflector had sent his Viewfinder frame with Kup to the village and left Spectro and Spyglass to watch him and the cabin. It wasn't fair! Not fair at all!

Orion turned to his dollhouse, one of the only toys he hadn't had taken away and picked up his princess mech doll. He liked his doll, he was very pretty and was fun to play with. Papa Kup said his princess mech was a truckbot like him, just a different model but Orion couldn't see it. Papa Kup looked nothing like his princess mech.

He was going to take his princess mech and put him in his tree! He didn't care what Papa Kup said in his stories, princess mechs lived in trees like him and Papa 'Flector! He knew it!

Orion headed out to his tree and gave a mean look at Papa 'Flector as he passed. He bet Papa Kup and Papa 'Flector's Viewfinder frame were having so much fun in the village! And without him! So mean!

\------------------

Reflector stared around him in wonder. He had no idea that the village would be so busy! There were so many people around. He nervously adjusted his cloak and drew closer to his Kup. He wasn't sure he liked this at all.

He followed behind his Kup as he moved towards the 'store'. He walked inside and stared in amazement at all the things crammed into the small building. He wondered if they had made a giant subspace for the building there were so many things inside of it.

Reflector looked around as Kup moved to the counter and spoke to the mech behind it, asking about the items he had ordered for them. While Kup was busy, Reflector began to walk up and down the few rows that lined the store and looked over the items on display. He had just turned onto the third row when he froze with a gasp and jerked back out of the aisle.

Kup heard the gasp and moved over to see if he was alright, "Wha's wrong, sweetspark?"

Reflector just pointed at the... the .. atrocity! He pointed at the carved piece of wood that had obviously been hewn from a dryad's tree! How dare any mech do such a thing and then descreate the remains? It was barbaric!

Kup looked at the wood for a long time, then carefully picked it up and carried it over to the counter. "Do yah know where this came from, Quick Trade? Or who carved it?"

The mech looked at Kup oddly, "Yes, Treechopper brought it in. He said he found it next to a fallen tree that had been eaten by techno-termites. That was the biggest piece he found that was still solid."

Reflector pushed up to the counter and stared at the mech, "Where was it found? Where are the techno-termites?!"

The mech gave Reflector an odd and wary look, "He said it was over on the northern edge of town about a two sol journey into the forest."

Reflector turned to Kup, "We must go back! We have to-"

Kup placed a servo over Reflector's mouth. "Ah need to get the supplies first then we can go back."

While Kup finished getting his supplies, Reflector told his other frames to begin to make repellant for both their tree and Orion's. Techno-termites moved fast and tended to only eat certain trees. Unfortunately, dryad trees were apparently a delicacy for techno-termites unless they had been coated in the special repellant.

Once Spectro had begun to prepare the repellant, Spyglass told the trees to pass the news on to the dryad groves, both about the techno-termites as well as that a solitary dryad had fallen.

It was a dark sol whenever a dryad was lost. Their numbers were so few now, with fewer and fewer fruits being planted.

\---------------

Orion was not happy, Papa Reflector had forced him to put his toys inside the cabin before all but forcing him inside his tree. Everytime he tried to poke his helm out, Papa Reflector shoved him back inside. To make it worse, Papa was covering his tree in nasty stuff. It was sticky and smelly and gross and he wanted it off of him and his tree right now!

He finally was able to poke his helm out and saw Papa Kup had returned from the villlage with Papa Reflector's other frame and all four of them were putting the nasty stuff all over Papa's tree. Why would Papa put that goop on his tree?

Orion was about to step out and go over to ask when a strange buzzing sound was heard. He looked up and saw a dark cloud blocking out Haydeen's light. Papa Kup came running over and pushed his helm back into his tree. "Stay inside, sparklin'! Don't come out until ah say yah can, okay? Be a good bitling!"

Orion drew back, his papa...his papa sounded scared. Nothing scared papa though! Right?

He stayed in his tree, growing more frightened the longer he was inside. He worried about his papas and what might have scared them so much.

Finally after what seems to have been forever, Papa Kup says, "Yah can come out, Orion. It's all over bitling."

Orion slipped out of his tree and froze in shock. Many of the trees that lined the clearing they lived in were gone! Just gone! he turned to Papa Kup to ask what had happened and froze as he saw Papa Reflector's tree. One of the big branches on Spyglass's trunk was full of holes and it's leaves were gone.

Poor Papa!

Orion hurried over to Papa's tree and looked up at the damaged branch. It had to hurt so much! He bent forward and gave a little kiss to the injured trunk.  Papa Reflector patted his helm from behind and scooped him up into a hug before handing him to Papa Kup. "We will tend to our tree, our Kup. Please watch Orion and check his sapling for any damage. Let us know if you find any at once."

Orion gasped at the idea of his little tree being hurt and urged Papa Kup to move faster. Once they got back to his tree, he looked over it completely. He checked each of its thin branches and every individual leaves. He checked his little twigs and the exposed parts of his roots. He put his little hands out and checked the bark he could reach and only then turned to Papa Kup. "I think we are okay, Papa. We can go help Papa 'Flector now."

When they returned to Papa Reflector's tree, the damaged branch had been smeared with more of the gross goop and then had been wrapped in leaves that papa Reflector had gathered for binding Papa Kup's injuries. Orion reached out to Papa Reflector and Papa Kup passed him over. Orion nuzzled Papa Reflector's Viewfinder frame as he held him before asking, "Papa, what was that?"

Papa Reflector nuzzled Orion back before replying, "That was an attack, Orion. We were attacked by techno-termites. They eat certain trees and love dryad trees the best. That is why we had to put the special repellant on your tree and mine. It makes the techno-termites leave us alone."

Orion thought on that for a moment. "Papa, then why did your branch get hurt? If the gross stuff is supposed to help, why did you get hurt?"

Papa Reflector sighed, "We got hurt because we ran low on repellant. We had to make sure your tree was completely covered and protected before we put any on our tree. Techno-termites go after little saplings like yours the way you go after sweet crystals. We had to keep you safe, because we love you so much Orion. Our precious, precious sparkling."

Orion just cuddled against Papa Reflector. He didn't want Papa Reflector to get hurt because of him. He didn't want his tree to get eaten up either! He just curled up and clung to his papa and hoped that his papa would be okay.

Orion looked up at his Papa Reflector and then over to his Papa Kup. "I love you papas!"

\-----------------------

The rest of the stellar cycle passed by quickly. Orion stayed close to home and helped his Papa Reflector heal from the techno-termite attack.  The warm cycle faded into the cooling cycle and then into the cold cycle. Orion had bid a sorrowful goodbye to his Papa Reflector for the cold cycle and then headed inside to Papa Kup's cabin.

Papa Kup had made a new item for the cabin, a big round thing he called a tub. Papa said it was cleaning dirty things but Orion didn't see anything dirty. He had begun to look around the cabin while Papa filled the tub with hot solvents. He was looking in the small closet where Papa kept his cloak when Papa scooped him up and plopped him into the solvent filled tub.

Orion immediately tried to climb out but Papa Kup pushed him back in. "Yah need a good scrubbin' bitlin'. Yer covered in muck and mud. Yer gettin' a bath!"

Orion glared at Papa Kup, "No bath!"

Papa Kup grabbed a bit a cloth and began to scrub Orion with the solvents, "Yes, bath!"

Orion thrashed in the solvents as Papa scrubbed him, he did not need a bath! "No! No Papa! No Bath! No Bath!"

Papa Kup grunted as Orion thrashed and then dropped something into the tub. Suddenly thick frothy bubbles began to form in the solvents and Orion stared at them in shocked wonder. He reached out and poked at the mass of bubbles then giggled as some of the bubbles stuck to him.

Orion lifted his arm and pointed to the bubbles. "Papa! Look Papa! They like me!"

Papa Kup laughed a bit at then and continued to scrub the now distracted sparkling. "Yeh, ah see bitling. Now hold still!"

Despite Papa Kup, Orion began to bat and toss the bubbles as well as grabbing handfuls to stick on Papa Kup. All too soon, Papa Kup put down the cloth and reached in the tub for Orion. "All done, sparklin'. Out yah get. Yeh can go play with yer toys and yer princess mech doll."

Orion however was having none of it.

"No! Want bubbles! Bubbles Papa! Bubbles!"

Papa Kup gave Orion a look as he sat in the tub and tried to clutch a poof of bubbles to his little chest. "Fine. Yeh can stay in until the bubbles....go home."

Orion looked up at Kup in amazement, "Bubbles go home? No! Papa make bubbles stay and play!"

Papa Kup laughed again. "Sorry, sweetspark. The bubbles got to go home soon, and yah got to get out of the tub soon."

Orion just gave a huffy look at his papa. "No! They like me, they stay here! You see!"

\-----

A joor later, the bubbles had all popped and a sad looking Orion sat in the tub looking mournfully at the bubbleless solvents. "Papa, they are all gone! Why did they go?"

Kup hoisted Orion from the now cool solvents. "They had to go on their home is all, sparklin'. They'll come play with yah some other sol, yah'll see."

With that Orion curled up on Kup's broad warm chestplates and settled in for a nap.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The cold cycle passed and the stellar cycles flew by until several stellars later, as Kup was outside one sol of the thawing cycle, Orion came over to his tree and curled up next to it. "Papa, I don't feel good."

Kup moved over to Orion and looked him over, as well as his tree. Seeing nothing wrong, Kup called over to Reflector. "Hey, Reflector! Somethin's wrong with Orion."

Reflector rushed over to them but before Reflector could reach them, Orion was engulfed in a bright light and there was a sound like a pop. When the light faded from Orion, he was no longer a little sparkling but instead a sturdy little youngling.

As soon as the light faded, Reflector scooped up Orion in a hug. "Look at you! Our little sprout is growing up! You are so much bigger now!"

Kup blinked in amazement for a breem but then drew Orion into a hug as well. "Yer gettin' all grown up, bitling."

Orion looked down at himself and was amazed that he was taller and so fast! He turned to give his papas a hug but froze in horror. He pointed at the thing, "Papas! What is that! Get it off of me!"

Papa Reflector looked at where he pointed and laughed. "Aww, how sweet! Our little sprout is growing his first blossoms! How adorable!"

Orion looked at his papa aghast. He was so grown up now! He wasn't supposed to be 'adorable' anymore! It wasn't fair!

Papa Kup moved over to take a look. "Yep. It's a blossom alright. It ain't gonna hurt ya none, so stop yer yelpin'."

He gave both his papas dirty looks and sank into his tree to sulk.

\-----

When Orion finally emerged from his tree two sols laters, he was absolutely covered in sweet smelling blossoms and his tree was similarly festooned. Swarms of beautiful cyberflies in all shapes and colors filled the air around his tree and dozens fluttered about him as he headed for the cabin. He had to laugh as he moved because the cyberflies kept trying to land on the blossoms he was sporting and they tickled him as they tried.

He finally made it inside and closed the door. He turned around and felt his spark pulse with love. While he had been sulking, Papa Kup had altered his chair and made it bigger by adding to the seat and doubling the backrest. It sat taller too, so Orion could sit comfortably next to his Papa.

He was touched his papa had done it for him and had not just made a new chair but used his old chair to make the new one. He walked up to his papa and gave him a great hug.

Papa Kup turned around and returned the hug. "Glad yah came out this sol. Yer presents are on yer berth."

Orion looked at Papa Kup in confusion. Papa Kup saw the confusion and laughed, "Silly sparklin'! Don't say yer fergot yer own emergin' sol?"

With that Orion gasped and checked his internal calendar and realized it was his emerging sol! He hurried to his room and gasped at the presents that sat on his newly expanded berth. Papa Kup had been very busy!

Orion sat on the berth and began to open his presents while Papa Kup joined by Papa Reflector looked on. He soon gazed in wonder at all the gifts he had been given. He had received seven new types of crystals, several new toys and a whole new wing for his doll castle Papa Kup made for him. He had even gotten furnishings for the castle as well. He was the luckiest sparkling ever!

Orion jumped off the berth and rushed over to his papas, giving them both huge hugs while he chanted, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

His papas laughed and hugged him back. "You're welcome Orion. We love you sparkling."

\---------------------

The warm cycle came and Orion was busy working in his garden. He had planted his emerging sol crystals and enlarged his garden. It was getting so big now! It was filled with so many different crystals, some of which were tasty and others were simply pretty. Orion loved working on his garden, especially now that his blossoms had faded and the cyberflies left him alone.

He was thinking of asking Papa Kup if he could take the old wooden fence down. If it was down then he could expand his garden and if Papa Kup wanted a fence, then Orion knew of crystals that would grow large and merge to make a solid cystal fence. He could put up a huge one, all around the area he could travel without his charm except for Papa Reflector's hunting area. He would leave that alone for his papa.

Orion looked over his garden and was happy with how well it was growing. He would soon have several large crystals grown that he could carve when they were big enough to be picked. He wanted to carve an altar like the one in the village. He wanted to be able to make offerings to Primus up here instead of having to wait for a trip to the village.

He looked up when he heard the cabin door shut and Papa Kup headed out into the forest with his axe on his shoulder. "Bye Papa! Be careful! See you later!"

Papa Kup smiled and waved to him as well as to Papa Reflector who emerged from his tree to blow a kiss at Papa Kup. Old mechs were gross like that at times. Yuck!

Orion was so glad he wasn't like that and never would be.

\----------------------------------

Kup headed off into the forest, his axe on his shoulder and his cloak wrapped around his shoulders. He waved goodbye to his bonded and their sparkling as he headed off. He was going deeper into the forest than usual. He had heard another woodcutter say that there was a section of steelwood trees that had fallen in the last storm. Steelwood was very valuable. Even one tree would mean that his family would be set for the next two stellar cycles without touching the credits from Cliffjumper the leprechaun he had caught all those stellars ago. He saved that for emergencies. 

He walked along, listening to the avians singing in the branches of the trees and the sound of flowing solvents. The woodcutter had said the Steelwood was by a good sized pond by a creek. Kup followed the creek for quite a ways until at last he found himself staring at several fallen Steelwood trees in a grove of them. Kup put away his old axe and pulled out a special saw. His saw would be able to cut the steelwood no problem!

He moved to begin harvesting the wood when he heard a sound like some one crying. He looked all around and saw a femme sitting on the side of the pond. Kup carefully moved over to her and asked, "Ma'am? Yeh okay?"

Kup reached out to touch her shoulder, only for her to grab his wrist and pull hard. Kup found himself along with the femme in the pond and she was pulling him down by the wrist. Her faceplates had twisted into a mask of rage and hate as she dragged him further and further into the solvents.

Kup reached into his subspace with his free servo and drew his axe. With a mighty chop, he swung at the femme and cut off her servo. As soon as he was free, Kup swam for the surface and clambered ashore. He moved away from the pond as fast as he could and spent several breems flushing his intakes of solvents.

Slaggin' water spirits!

Kup finished clearing his intakes and glared over at the pond. He then went to where he had put down his saw and began to harvest the fallen trees. When he had filled his expanded storage cubes and his subspace, he picked up his old axe and set it on his shoulder. With one last look at the pond over his shoulder, he headed back to his home.

He was not going to mention this to his family, they would only worry, but he did need to warn the other woodcutters in the village tomorrow.

\-------------------------

As soon as he returned though, Reflector's Viewfinder frame cornered him. "What happened to you? You have dents on your wrist and you smell like pond solvents!"

Drat!

Kup drew Viewfinder to him and kissed him, "Ah'm fine, sweetspark. Don't worry none."

Viewfinder bristled at that. "Not worry? Kup! What happened!"

Kup could see he had no escape from telling Reflector. "Ah had a bit of trouble. With a...water spirit."

 At those words, Viewfinder froze and stared at Kup aghast. "You...you? You could have been drowned! Kup, we could have lost you!"

 Kup drew Reflector to him and hugged him before placing a kiss to helm. "But ah wasn't and yah didn't sweetspark. Ah'll need ta go in an' warn folks about her though in the village ta be safe."

 Viewfinder nodded and hugged Kup back hard. "As long as it is tomorrow. I want you where I can see you this sol."

 ------------------------------

Reflector worried. He worried about his Kup. He went out into the forest every sol and there was nothing Reflector could do to protect him beside the cloaks he wove for Kup to wear.

There was nothing they could do though. Even with the charm that would let them send a frame with Kup when he went out to harvest fallen trees, there were few things he could drive off. Dryads were not that feared unless they were close to one's tree and were mech eaters like he had been.

At least his Kup had his lasermusket with him. He had been surprised to learn his Kup always carried it with him, and was extra careful that it was never out around Orion. Kup was such a good papa to their sparkling. He had made their sparkling so many lovely things, like the toys Orion was always playing with.

Orion had been using his miniature gardening tools to create a large garden around his tree to grow the crystals he ate. He suspected that since Orion had grown blossoms this stellar cycle that Orion would soon be producing sap within his tree. His sparkling was growing up far too fast for him.

At least they were able to enjoy having their sparkling at all, they had feared that they were a barren tree after they had failed to produce any sparkling fruits in so long. Thankfully they were proven wrong with their Kup's help. They had had a perfect flowering, a perfect fruit and a perfect sparkling.

Still Reflector had to worry, so many dark things walked under the forest boughs. He sighed with all three frames and listened to the trees as they spoke of what was about in the forest.

\-----------------------------------------------

Orion carefully poured solvents out over his crystals he was tending. His garden was much bigger now. He had one more patch to tend to before he needed to get ready. His papas had agreed that he was old enough to walk to Boulder's home to play with Bulkhead and Bumblebee. He would be allowed to wear his charm again and Papa Kup would let him walk half way there by himself.

He hurried to tend to the last patch of crystals and then rushed inside to the tub of solvents. He hopped in and scrubbed himself quickly before climbing out and drying off. He ran outside and saw Papa Kup waiting for him near the gate with the charm. A look over his shoulder let him see that the other charm was already on his tree.

As soon as Orion got to his Papa Kup, he took the charm from his papa and slipped it on. Once he was ready, the two of them headed off into the forest while Papa Reflector waved goodbye and then shut the gate before heading back to his tree.

Orion looked around at everything as they walked and asked Papa Kup dozens upon dozens of questions about ...well, everything. Papa Kup answers his questions as best as he can until they reach a small river. "Alright sparklin'. Follow this river up current until you reach the rock hills. It will lead you right to Boulder's home alright?”

Orion nodded. He was a big bot now, he could do this.

He followed the little river, stopping to look at some of the plants and crystals that grew along it's banks. He had only gotten half-way up the river when he froze and sniffed at the air. Orion felt his tank rumble with hunger, something smelled like...like Papa Kup's crystal cake!

Orion looked towards the direction the smell seemed to be coming from and then back at the river, weighing his options carefully. He could probably find his way back. If he went only a little ways away from the river.

Orion moved away from the river, sniffing the air as he searched the area for the source of the delicious aroma.  He looked back to make sure he knew where the river was located several times.

He walked into a clump of bushes and ended up sliding down a hidden embankment. When he slid to a stop, Orion looked around him and froze in awe. In front of him was a large, fancy building, and it was made of edible crystals. Delicious edible crystals.

Orion snuck over to the building and took a few cautious licks of the building. When nothing happened he began to nibble on the edges of the building and moaned at how wonderful the crystals tasted.

Unfortunately, that was when things went horrible wrong. As Orion nibbled on the crystals, suddenly an old femme popped out of the door and glared at him. Orion stared at the femme in shock and embarrassment at having been caught trying to eat her home. Before he could apologize though, the femme pointed a stick at him and he found he couldn't move at all!

The femme hobbled over to him and walked around him, looking him over. "So, it seems I've caught a little dryad sapling, hmm? Such a silly little thing, nibbling on bot's homes."

The femme then began to drag Orion into her home and down into a dark and scary basement. She reached up and pulled down heavy metal manacles that she locked around Orion's wrists and left him in the dark. Orion began to whimper. He wanted his papas!

\-----

Orion didn't know how long he had been in the dark basement when the femme returned and had a large bucket with her. He watched as she set the bucket next to him and then reached into her subspace and pulled out a long odd looking needle. He did not like where this was going.

The femme knelt down and grabbed his leg. She held it still and then jammed the odd looking needle in. Once it was in, the femme twisted it and separated the needle in two parts. One part was the sharp needle like section and the other was a hollow tube now embedded in Orion's leg.

The femme positioned the bucket so it would catch Orion's mechfluid as it began to drip out. She cacked as the first few drops fell. "I've always wanted to try dryad sap! It has so many uses! I should thank you for giving me this opportunity, you stupid little sapling!"

Orion felt dizzy as his fluids began to drip out slowly. He wanted to go home! He wanted his papas!

\---------------

Kup headed up along the small river, his subspace and storage cubes filled with more steelwood. He needed to go to Boulder's and pick up Orion before heading home together. He knew he would hear all about what the sparklings had done that sol. He hurried up the river and finally reached the rocky slopes of Boulder's home.

Kup headed toward the cave the rockbiter clan made their home in and called out. "Boulder, it's Kup! Ah'm here ta take Orion home."

Boulder came to the opening and looked at Kup in confusion. "Kup? Orion did not come to play this sol. We thought you kept him home."

Kup felt his spark stop at those words. "He never got here? He ain't been here all sol?"

Boulder shook his helm, looking more alarmed. "He was supposed to? Oh dear."

Kup thanked Boulder and headed back along the river. Orion had started out along the river, Kup had seen him with his own optics. He would surely find a sign of his sparkling there. He made it halfway down the river, searching for any sign of his sparkling when he caught a strong whiff of something overly sweet and cloying.

He looked around seeking its source when he spied a familiar little ped print in the soil. Orion had come this way, probably after the source of the scent. Orion did love overly sweet things. Kup followed the direction the ped print seemed to lead and he found himself sliding down a steep embankment. Kup slid to a stop and stared at the sight before him.

An entire house made of cystals.

A house made of crystals with very, very familiar gnaw-marks on one corner.

His sparkling had been here for certain.

However, Kup had not lived the great forest for so long without learning caution. He moved around the house carefully, looking for any sign of his sparkling. As he circled the house, he could see no sign of his sparkling . No tracks, nothing at all showed him leaving.

His sparkling was here. Somewhere.

As Kup moved back to the front of the house where the gnaw marks were, an elderly femme came out and froze at the sight of him. She looked him over before speaking, "Good sol, woodcutter. What brings you to my poor home?"

Kup did not like the way the femme looked at him. Most mechs and femmes did not live this deep in the forest and were usually eager for travelers they could trade with or get the latest news and gossip for.  He decided to be very wary of her until she proved to be harmless. "Ah'm helpin' ta look fer a missin' bitlin'. Have yah seen one? A Little mech?"

The femme stared at him for a moment before replying, "No, I'm sorry. I haven't seen a little one in vorns. Such a shame, I love sparklings so. They are just so sweet."

Kup did not believe her. At all. How could she not have seen his sparkling fragging gnawing on her house? It is kind of a noticeable thing after all, bots eating your house and all.

He pretended to believe her, knowing she was his best bet in finding his bitling. He looked over at the corner of the house where the gnaw marks were and got an idea.

He moved closer and knelt to examine the marks before he turned back to the femme. "Looks like yah got somethin' trying to eat yer house. Have yah offfended any spirits lately? The leshy here can get tricky. He may have sent his cyberwolf to gnaw on yer home. Have ya seen one around? Or yah could have a turbofox trying ta make a den. Ah'll take a look aorund fer yah if yah like. Make sure yer safe 'n all."

Now any normal femme, especially an elderly one like this one, would leap at having someone check their home for turbofox pests. Especially one who for some reason made a house out of crystals that turbofoxes like to eat. The femme hesitated fer a long moment and after a breem, finally responded. "I would appreciate it, as long as it is not a bother. You don't need to at all. I am sure my house is just fine now."

Kup gave the femme a concerned face, "Aw, it ain't no bother. Forest folk gotta look out fer one another 'n all." 

The femme reluctantly moved aside so Kup could enter the house. It looked like a normal home, neat and tidy with no sign of his sparkling but he had a feeling Orion was close by. Orion was here somewhere.  He had to be.

A slight sound from behind him was all the warning he got. He whirled around and grabbed the femme's wrist firmly, stopping her from stabbing him with an fancy dagger. He twisted her arm and managed to tie her wrists together behind her back.

"Now that ain’t very neighborly.  Ah'll ask one more time. Where is tha' sparklin'?"

The femme glared up at him. "I have no sparkling! You meddling aft! I'll turn you into a mecha-mule!"

Kup stared at the witch, for what else could she be, and said slowly, "Ah know yah got a dryad sparkling hid here. His papas sent meh ta find him. Where is he?"

The witch smirked at Kup, "You will never find him! And when I am done turning you into a mecha-mule, I'll enjoy seeing if it is true how sweet dryads taste!"

Kup growled and grabbed the femme by her armor, hoisting her up, "Where is he?"

She simply smirked further, "Perhaps I'll make a pie. Or grind part of him up for spice."

Kup threw the witch to the floor. As she landed, he heard the hollow thump of her landing and realized there was a cellar. Leaving the bound witch, Kup began to search for the door that would lead to the cellar.

He flipped a rug over and found a trapdoor beneath it. Kup ripped open the door and dashed down the narrow stairs below. He found himself in a dark room, and turned on his headlights so he could see.

What he saw broke is spark.

His precious Orion was chained to a wall, and hung limply from the shackled holding him up. He rushed over to his sparkling and was enraged when he drew close enough to see the tube that was draining him.

Kup put pressure above the tube and drew it out of his sparkling's leg. He pressed over the site for a breem letting his self-repair close the small wound. He looked up at Orion's faceplates and saw that were slack with unconsciousness. His poor sparkling. He reached down and undid the leg irons on his tiny ankles and was reaching up to undo the manacles when a screech of rage came from behind him.

Kup pulled his axe from sub-space as he turned and swung out at the witch who was charging at him with what could only be a wand in her hand. He brought his axe down on the arm holding the wand and the witch screamed as the axe bit deep into her arm making her drop the wand.

Kup snatched the wand from the ground and before the injured witch could stop him, he broke the wand in half. As soon as the wand broke, the witch howled in dismay and before Kup's optics she began to degrade and rust away to nothing.

Kup stared at where the femme had been for a breem but turned away when he heard Orion stirring behind him. When he knelt by his sparkling, Orion looked up at him with barely lit optics. "P-p-papa?"

The soft whisper of his sparkling broke his spark anew. His poor, poor sparkling. "Papa's here, Orion. Papa's got ya. Let's get yah home, sparklin'."

\----------------

Kup looked out at the huge garden that now surrounded his sparkling's tree. He could see Orion carefully tending to his crystals through the window. His poor sparkling had been forced to stay in his tree for the rest of that stellar cycle and had had to remain in it for long periods of time for two stellars after that.

The only good that come of it had been after he had rushed Orion home. Hound, the leshy himself, had come to Kup and Reflector's home. He was accompanied by his consort the elven lord Mirage, who had carried two large baskets.

Hound had stepped forward, as Mirage had set the two baskets down. "We heard of what occurred with your sparkling. We are glad you were able to rescue him in time. My people have destroyed and purged the area where the witch had lived, so have no fear of another stepping into her home."

Mirage gestured to the two baskets, "I brought these for your sparkling. The one on the left is filled with crystals that will help him heal as well as helping him grow. The other basket is a gift for him. It is filled with special and rare crystals for him to grow in his garden. I have also included a packet of crystals to grow as a wall around his garden. They will grow large and fuse together when the reach each other."

With that the two had turned and blended back into forest.

Kup and Reflector had been sure to place crystals around Orion's roots every sol until he emerged from his tree again, more healing crystals had arrived with each changing cycle. Orion had been delighted by his gift and had planted his new crystals as fast as he could. He had had Kup plant the ones for the walls though, since Orion refused to leave the fenced area anymore. Kup had planted the crystals in a large arc and tended them as Orion said to. When they were a decent height, Kup tore down the old wooden fence and built a new gate where the crystal walls ended.

Orion had gleefully filled in his enlarged garden with many crystals and soon was happily spending all his time either in his garden or with Kup in the cabin. Orion had asked to learn how to carve his crystals and Kup was slowly teaching him. Orion had already made several rough benches to put in his garden and enjoyed sitting on them while he studied his lessons. Kup had bought school pads in the village after it became apparent that Orion would not leave the fence and go to school in the village with the other younglings.

Orion had proven to be a very, very smart sparkling and was now far beyond his peers in his schoolwork. He was a curious little sparkling, although not so little any more. Orion had undergone a second sudden transformation and his apparent age had jumped to a youngling. The most startling change was he had begun to grow an odd bump on his upper back that was quite large in size. It had left even Reflector baffled as to what it was.

Now, almost eight stellar cycles since the incident with the witch Orion seemed happy and that was all Kup asked.

\----------------------------

Orion looked around his garden with a sense of satisfaction. He had many lovely crystals and they were all growing so well. His friends, well pets, he had made of several song avians and a few large cyber-flies had returned to see him this stellar.

It was hard to have mecha-animal friends when your papa tended to eat them.

Fortunately, these ones seemed more intelligent that the others and avoided Papa Reflector's tree. He liked listening to his avian friends sing as they sat in his branches. In fact, this stellar one of the avians had begun to build a nest in his branches. It was almost finished and was beginning to call out for a mate.

Orion could hardly wait to see the little eggs and tiny avian sparklings emerge. They would be so cute.

Ever since the ...incident, Orion had stayed close to his tree. The other sparklings he had been playing with were busy with their lessons and their papas were often too busy to bring them to visit and no one let their sparklings walk anywhere alone anymore. It had been a bit lonely but he was used to it now. He had things to keep him occupied any way.

He had his school pads, and his garden. Papa Kup was teaching him to carve crystals and Papa Reflector taught him about how to be a proper dryad and dryad culture. He was learning so much! He had learned the history of the great forest and the many kingdoms of Cybertron as well as the emperor Magnus who ruled over them all from his school pads. Lord Mirage had visited him several times and taught him about the rare crystals he brought for Orion to add to his garden. Lord Mirage had taught him so much about caring for his crystals and how to get them to grow best. His crystals had grown so well that his tree had improved along with them; his long roots had tangled with those of the crystals and his tree leeched nutrients from them that way.

Papa Kup taught him how to use his tools to carve and shape his special crystals he grew for carving and how to identify all the mecha-animals and spirits of the forest. He had enjoyed learning about his little friends. Papa Reflector gave him lessons in learning to speak to non-dryad trees as well as dryad customs. He had no idea that dryads had such complex rules for somethings. Papa Reflector was also teaching him how to weave with his bark on the loom Papa Kup had made for him.

Papa Kup had headed into the village and said he would be returning with a surprise for him. He wondered what is could be. His papa had been working on making something behind the cabin, and refused to show him what he was making. Orion had to admit to being curious, but he wasn't going to peek.

Before too long he heard Papa Kup heading back and was surprised to see Papa Reflector's Spyglass frame coming in with him. He must have gone into the village with Papa Kup since both of them were carrying good sized baskets. Papa Kup was carrying one along with his ususal big bag of supplies while Papa Spyglass was carrying two more identical baskets.

Papa Kup set his basket down near the entrance to Orion's garden and called out. "Orion, come get yer surprise."

Orion moved over to the baskets while Papa Spyglass set the remaining two baskets down a well. Orion looked down at the baskets and then back up to his papas who were smirking at him. "Well, sparkling, aren't you going to open them?"

Orion reached down and opened the first basket. Out popped three small fuzzy things with tiny little legs. Orion looked up at his papas in shock, "Papas, what are they?"

Papa Kup pointed at the little things, "They're miniature fluffsheep for yer garden. Yah shear them in the thawing cycle and get fibers fer weavin'."

Orion looked at the three little mini fluffsheep and then opened the other two baskets and two more sets of three rushed out and then clustered together in a little herd. He looked up at his papas and smiled. "Thank you papas! I'll take good care of them."

Papa Spyglass smiled back at him. "We know you will, sparkling. The other frames and I promise we won't eat them either."

Papa Kup gave Papa Spyglass a dirty look for that comment. "Yer gonna do fine, ah know. Ah picked ya out a ram fer yer little flock so be careful, he might try to head-butt you. Ah made a shelter fer them. Ah'll set it out so yah can find where ya want it in yer garden Orion."

Orion gave both his papas big hugs and thanked them again for the present. He shooed his tiny flock into his garden, where they immediately began to nibble on the mechano-grass that covered the paths and empty areas. It seemed he wouldn't have to worry about keeping his paths trimmed now.

Orion looked over his little flock before he sat down in one of the empty areas where he had not planted crystals yet. The little fluffsheep moved over to where he was and nibbled the mechano-grass. He reached out to touch one and was amazed at how soft it was. "Hmm, I need to give you names. Let's see."

He sat and pet each of his sheep as he thought and only looked up from them when Papa Kup and Papa Reflector's Spectro frame came over to him carrying things over. Papa Kup set his burden down in the corner of the garden near where Optimus was sitting. When he moved away from it, Orion could see it was a miniature version of a house with little doors. Papa Kup then took Papa Spectro's burden from him and used it to make a little fence that surrounded the crystal-less area that the fluffsheep and Orion were in. Papa Kup finished up the fence with a small gate saying, "There. Yah can let 'em in or out and keep them safe. Here, yah'll need these too."

With that Papa Kup set down a long shallow bucket and filled it from a bucket of solvents. The fluffsheep hurried over and began to drink. Papa Kup then handed Orion a small brush and a device. "That's tha clipper fer when yer ready ta get the fluff offa them. Yah just shave 'em."

Orion looked at the clippers hesitantly, "It won't hurt them will it?"

Papa Kup laughed, "Naw, sparklin'. They'll be fine. Yah give 'em names yet?"

Orion nodded and pointed to each one as he said it's new name. "That's Rowan, Ash, Cedar, Maple, Pine, Spruce, Elm, Oak, and Olive."

Papa Kup just sighed and laughed but Papa Spectro clapped his servos together, "Those are wonderful names Orion! Just Perfect!"

Orion smiled as he caught Elm and began to brush the little fluffsheep. Elm immediately went limp and pushed into the brush with little bleats of delight at each stroke of the brush. His little fluffsheep were so cute. He had to set a very reluctant Elm down as the other fluffsheep butted against his legs and bleated pleadingly with large optics.

He loved them already!

\--------------------

Orion had just emerged from his tree for the sol and was about to head over to his fluffsheep to feed and groom them when he heard delighted bleats from his fluffsheeps. When he arrived there he froze in amazement. There, grooming his fluffsheep was a tiny little mech. One even smaller than he had heard the leprechaun his Papa Kup had caught was. It was brushing one of his fluffsheeps by sitting on another and riding it as it walked around another one.

Orion stared at the little mech. He was absolutely adorable! He was all round and chubby. Orion just wanted to pick him up and cuddle him like his fluffsheep. Carefully he snuck up on the tiny chubby mech and with a little jump forward, caught him and Maple. The little mech cried out and Maple bleated in panic before settling down.

Orion carefully set Maple down and held on to the tiny mech. "Who are you?"

The tiny mech looked up at Orion fearfully. "Let me go! I'm just a herd sprite! Please let me go?!"

Orion blinked. A herd sprite? "Does that mean you came to help with my fluffsheep? You are welcome to if you like. They seem to like you."

The tiny mech stopped shaking and looked up at Orion hopefully, "Really? I can stay?"

Orion nodded, "You can. You can help take care of them while I am in my tree resting."

The tiny mech's optics widened, "Your tree? Are, are you a dryad?"

Orion smiled, "Yes. My name is Orion. What's yours?"

The little mech blushed adorably, "I'm Cosmos."

"I think we'll be great friends Cosmos!"

\--------------------

Cosmos liked his new home, and his new friend Orion was wonderful. Orion had talked one of his papas into carving a small home for him. Cosmos had already begun to make a nice comfy berth using fluffsheep fibers and Orion had promised him a mesh when he finished making a small enough loom to weave it on. Cosmos could hardly wait.

Leaving his lovely home, Cosmos walked over to the small stable the fluffsheep had in their little pasture. Cosmos opened the gate and was immediately swarmed by the fluffsheep. The fluffsheep butted against him demandingly and bleated at him pitifully. He knew that they wanted to be brushed. The spoiled little things always wanted to be brushed.

He pulled out his brush and began to groom Pine. Maple butted against him trying to get him to brush her instead of Pine. Greedy ewe.

He heard familiar chuckling from behind him and Maple is scooped up by Orion as he sits down to begin grooming the fluffsheep as well. "They sure are jealous about grooming, huh Cosmos?"

Cosmos laughed, "All fluffsheep are crazy over getting brushed. They all just love it. At least the ewes do. Oak over there, he isn't as thrilled about it."

Orion looked at where he had pointed and saw Oak with his back to them, rubbing his teeny little horns against a crystal. The ram for the little flock was so silly at times. There were no other rams for him to challenge. His ewes were safe from being lured away.

Cosmos settled in and chatted away with Orion as they worked to groom the flock of fluffsheep. They were in the middle of discussing if he would be able to dye Elder, Pine, Spruce and Olive's wool since they had spots of darker wool while Maple, Ash and Rowan were a solid dark brown. In fact only Oak himself and Cedar, who was also the fluffiest of the fluffsheep were solid white.

Right in the middle of their conversation, Orion fell silent and stared at something past Cosmos. Cosmos began to turn only to freeze at the sound of a rough voice, "So this is what yah were hidin' sparklin'."

Cosmos looked over his shoulder and way up and saw a scruffed up old truckbot. Orion reached out and scooped him up quickly. "Ah...Hi papa! I can explain?"

Cosmos felt Orion's servos being forced apart and was surprised when he was placed on the ground. He looked back up at the truckbot in surprise.  The truckbot was staring at him with an assessing look. "Yah should have told meh yah met a sprite, sparkling. Ah coulda made that house better if ah'd known. Ah'll make yah some proper furniture fer yer home, don't cha worry." 

Cosmos flushed and looked down shyly. "You don't have to. I can make stuff."

The truckbot squinted at him again, "In fact, ah think ah need to re-do yer home entirely."

With that the truckbot headed back into the large cabin nearby. Cosmos looked up at Orion, "Is he seriously going to make me a new home and furniture? He doesn't have to!"

Orion chuckled. "Yes he is. He is an old softy underneath his grumpiness. He'll make you a lovely home."

Sure enough, at the end of the decacycle the truckbot, Kup, had brought a beautiful house carved of wood out and set it next to the sheepfold. Cosmos was thrilled with it. It had little hinged doors and tiny shutters for the windows. There was even a second floor with a staircase to go up. When he tried to protest that he didn't need this much room, Kup had laughed. He said even sprites would need room for a family eventually and all Cosmos could do was blush.

Cosmos had a feeling more sprites would move in once word got around and he would get more help with the silly fluffsheep. The poor things weren't very bright. Oak had had to be rescued twice that decacycle alone after his horns got stuck in various crystals when he charged at his own reflection. Silly ram thought his reflection was trying to steal his ewes.

He was going to be a servofull, Cosmos thought.

\------------------------------------

Orion stepped out of his tree and shivered at the cool breeze. The cooling cycle was now well underway, and his fluffsheep were acting....odd. Oak kept charging crystals and getting stuck even when the crystals had been treated to no longer be as reflective. Even the ewes were acting strangely; they demanded they be groomed more and more often. They then pranced around while they waited to be groomed again. It was very odd indeed.

Just last sol, Oak had actually headbutted him!

He needed to ask his papas if they knew why his fluffsheep were acting so oddly. Oak headbutting him was one thing but if he tried it with Cosmos, the little sprite would have really gotten hurt.

Orion headed into the cabin and went to where Papa Kup was sitting in his comfy chair by the fire. He whittled on a small piece of wood, making more furniture for Cosmos. Papa Kup had made a lot of furniture for the little sprite as well as working on making more houses and furniture for them. He said "Where one sprite is happy, more will come!"

Orion hoped he was right. He liked his sprite friend.

"Papa, I think something is wrong with my fluffsheep! They are acting very strangely lately!"

Papa Kup looked up at him, "Whatcha mean 'strangely', bitling?"

Orion sat in his comfy chair next to his papa, "The ewes are all bouncy and Oak keeps attacking everything. He headbutted me last sol, papa! He's never done that before."

Papa Kup froze in his whittling. "Ah see. Ah know how ta fix it. Let meh take care of them fer a decacyle or two, okay sparkling?"

Orion looked at his papa, "You know what's wrong? What is it?"

Papa Kup looked shifty for a moment, and then sighed. "They're...ah...they're twitterpatted, sparkling. That's all. They'll be fine soon enough."

Orion looked at his papa before giving him a hug. "Okay, Papa. I know you will take good care of them."

Orion sat back down and began to work on his weaving on his small loom. He wanted to make a few more little meshes for Cosmos before the cold cycle set in.

\-------------------------------------------

Orion wasn't sure what Papa Kup had done to his fluffsheep but they were back to normal. Mostly anyway. Oak had been very...smug for the first decacycle after Papa Kup had let him care for the fluffsheep again and all the ewes had gotten fat. So fat. Papa Kup spoiled them too much.

Cosmos had been happy to have Orion care for the fluffsheep again and had introduced him to another sprite that had arrived.  The small mech was named Rhinox and was a garden sprite. Apparently, he had heard about Orion's garden and came to see if the rumors were true. Rhinox was so impressed that he had decided to stay and Papa Kup had brought out one of the finished homes for him to live in.

Already Orion's garden was growing better than ever, and the crystals gleamed with renewed lustre and shine. Well, except for the ones by the fluffsheep. Those ones had to be kept dull so Oak would stop charging at his own reflection.

Orion looked forward to making new sprite friends as they arrived.

He was working on making dozens of tiny meshes for future sprites to use since the cooling cycle was ending and the cold cycle would soon begin. Papa Reflector had begun to prepare his tree for his recharge and Orion helped as much as he could.

Papa Reflector had begun give his fluffsheep intense looks so Orion had had to tell Cosmos to be ready to hide them if Papa Reflector tried to eat them. Papa always got so hungry this time of stellar. 

He would have to keep an optic of them.

\----------------------

Orion lurched out of his tree in confusion. What was that? Something had landed in his branches and it was not his avian friends! Orion scanned his optics through his branches but had to duck suddenly as a cryo-crow dove down at his branches.

Orion shooed the avian away. He hated the nasty things and felt a bit glad when the avian flew too close to Papa Reflector's tree and it automatically grabbed it and pulled it in. Orion returned to looking at his branches, searching for whatever had landed in him. Orion was beginning to wonder if he had only imagined it, when he saw it. Tiny wing tip peeking around a branch that was apparently smaller that whatever was hiding in his boughs.

Orion moved to try and see what it was only to have whatever it was squeak and shift away from him. "You can come out. I won't hurt you, I promise. The cryo-crow is gone and won't be coming back. You're safe now."

Orion kept his optics on the little thing. It looked to be about the same size as the sprites only it seemed to have wings. 

The little thing peeked around the branch and Orion smiled softly. It then stepped out to reveal white and red plating with sleek wings and a square boxy helm. "Um, Hi? Please don't hurt me!"

Orion kept smiling, "I won't hurt you. Are you alright? You hit my tree a little hard."

The little mech shifted, "I..uh...I'm okay. Your tree? Is this your garden then?"

Orion smiled harder then slid into his tree and out onto the branch the little mech was on. "Yes, my tree and yes this is my garden. My name is Orion. What's yours?"

The little mech squeaked when Orion merged with his tree and again when he popped out on the branch. "Wow! I..oh..I'm Fireflight! I..um..sorry if I hurt your tree!"

Orion laughed, "Hello Fireflight! No, you didn't hurt either of us. You just startled me is all."

The faint sound of tiny voices yelling was heard and Orion turned to see where it was coming from. Fireflight looked around then yelled out, "I'm over here guys! I'm okay! I made a friend!"

Before Orion could blink, four more small mechs with wings landed on his branch. They ran to Fireflight and began to hug him while also yelling at him for being so foolish. None of the new mechs seemed to notice him there just yet, so Orion just kept watching them. Fireflight returned the hugs and tried to answer the questions that the others were asking. "Ooooh! And this is my friend Orion! He is nice! This is his tree! I think he is dryad but I'm not sure. I never met a dryad with a garden before."

At the word dryad, the four new mechs froze before grabbing at Fireflight and trying to get him to fly off with them. Fireflight however seemed confused as to why they were trying to drag him away. "Um, Guys? What are you doing? I don't want to leave yet. I just met Orion and he is really nice!"

One of the other mechs, the smallest one, flew over and tried to physically drag Fireflight away. "He is a /dryad// you little fluffhead! A /solitary dryad//! He's gonna try and eat you! Now get going!"

At the words from the other mech, Fireflight huffed and yanked his arm away from him. "Orion wouldn't do that! He is nice!"

Orion had to speak up then, "I would never eat him or you. I eat crystals and solvents. And I am not a solitary dryad. My dryad papa is over on the other side of the crystal fence. Be careful of him. /He// would eat you."

The four other mechs still looked at him suspiciously but Fireflight walked over to Orion and looked up at him, "Can I try some of your crystals? They all look yummy!"

Orion smiled, "Oh course, I have plenty! Just ask Rhinox before you eat anything you can't identify or the rarer crystals."

Fireflight clapped his servos together and bounced like a happy sparkling at that and Orion had to keep from cuddling the smaller mech but he was just so cute.

Fireflight glided down to the garden followed by the four other mechs and Orion merged back into his tree and then back out onto the ground. "So Fireflight, are you going to introduce your friends?"

Fireflight looked up with a mouth filled with Sparkling Sweet crystals and hurriedly swallowed. "Oh yes! These are my brothers! That's Silverbolt, Skydive, Air Raid and Slingshot! They are nice once they get to know you but they are way to overprotective of me!"

As the mechs were tasting the crystals and keeping a wary optic on Orion from all four of them, Cosmos wandered over. "Oh, Orion! I didn't know you had guests. Hi, I'm Cosmos! I am the herd sprite here!"

Fireflight flew over and hugged Cosmos, "Hi! I'm Fireflight! And these are my brothers! Orion said we can try some crystals! Do you like crystals?"

Fireflight's brothers facepalmed behind him while Orion chuckled.

\----------------------------------

Reflector looked over their sparkling's garden in amazement. So much had changed while he was in recharge for the cold cycle. Several new sprites had moved in as well as several fairies who now lived in small houses that were suspended from the taller crystal shrubs.

Even more amazing was that the flock of miniature fluffsheep had increased as well. In addition to the original nine, there were now eight tiny lambs frolicking about amongst the crystals and among Orion's tree roots. Reflector knew that he and Kup were fortunate that one of the new sprites had been on hand during the decacycle the lambs had arrived. Oil Slick had turned out to be excellent with dealing with Oak as well as with helping the ewes lamb.

Orion had been overjoyed with the new arrivals: sprites, faries and lambs. In fact, Orion had just finished naming the new lambs. They had been named: Magnolia, Cypress, Beech, Poplar, Palmetto, Thorn, Hazel and Laurel. Thorn had been a surprise but fortunately Oak seemed to like having the infant ram about and seemed proud he had sired one.

Orion continued to be unaware of how the lambs had been made and where they had come from. He currently believed that the lambs had been made from their mama's wool and Reflector intended for it to stay that way. He had made it clear to the sprites what would happen if one of them let Orion find out what the fluffsheep did. The visual demonstration had seemed to convince them of his seriousness.

His precious sapling would remain innocent.

Their precious Orion was far too young to have that particular conversation with. They would have to when he grew older and his time grew near but until then there was no need to worry him about what would happen.

They and Kup would keep their sparkling safe and protected.

\----------------------

Orion sat in the shade of his tree as he watched the new fluffsheep, the lambs as Papa Kup called them, frolicking around the other fluffsheep.

He still wasn't entirely sure how they had been made, but he suspected that it was done using the static that built up between the fluffsheep at times. He had tried explaining his theory to Papa Kup and Papa Reflector but they had just patted his helm and gave him sweet crystals.

He wished that they wouldn't do that, he was practically all grown-up! He was almost a teenbot and everything! His tree was getting so big now, he could barely wrap one of his arms around it anymore!

Every time he told his papas that though, they just laughed and said that he would always be their little sapling. He wasn't a sapling. He wasn't!

He would prove it too! He had a plan. He was going to stop acting like a scared little sparkling and leave the fenced in area. He was going to go and find the rare crystal that Fireflight had told him about. The little faerie mech had seen a crystal unlike any he had seen before while he was flying and Orion wanted it for his garden.

He had taken the set of charms from the box Papa Kup kept them in and had tucked them in his subspace. He had to admit to himself that he was a little nervous but he could do this!

He hoped.

Orion waited for Papa Kup to head off into the forest to harvest fallen trees before he edged his way to the gate and looked out on the forest. Had it always been this dark and scary?

He could do this though, he was a grown mech now!

He edged his way out of the gate and followed along the crystal fence before carefully stepping away and into the forest. He moved from tree trunk to tree trunk ready to scurry up their comforting forms if he needed to.

He did not trust the shadows of the forest, each one could contain something dark. He was a wiser mech than he had been when he was nothing but a sapling. He knew to be careful and on his guard.

Fireflight had said that the crystals were growing on top of a hill about two joors away. That was farther than Orion had ever gone before but he pressed onward and was careful to leave a trail so he could find his way back.

He made his way along the lines of trees, the nice trees whispered little encouragements as he went along. Trees were so much better than bots! He liked trees so much better! The only bots he liked were his sprite and fairy friends. And his papas of course.

Finally Orion reached the edge of the treeline and stepped out into the open field at the top of the hill. He did not like being exposed like this but he wanted those crystals. Fireflight said they were beautiful and nothing like he seen before.

He edged his way to the top of the hill and gasped in surprise. He had seen pictures of these in his crystal datapads but had never thought he would see them in real life. They were just too rare!

There, growing wild before him were Gold and Orange cora. With what appeared to be lacewing growing in between them.

Moving as quietly and as softly as he could he crept up to the beautiful crystals. Carefully he pulled out his storage container and reached out and gently harvested some of the gold and orange cora crystals. Once they were in the box, he looked at the remaing crystals and then the box again before reaching out and taking a little bit more of each. Orion sealed the box and pulled a special small container and ever so gently and ever so carefully he harvested the frail lacewing and managed to get an entire wing out intact.

Orion could not believe his luck. This was the best sol ever! His garden would be the best ever with these crystals growing in it. He would have to find the very best spot. The very bestest best!

He closed the lid on his box tightly and slipped it inside his subspace. He turned to head back down the hill and froze. Standing on the edge of the tree line were two rough looking teenbots. They were bigger than him, as big as papa Kup at least from what he could see of them. Their lower halves were concealed by the bushes along the edges of the tree line.

Orion looked from one to the other and noticed that while one was bright red the other was a burnished gold. Orion began to edge towards the trees when the red one moved to block him. Orion noticed that he moved very oddly as he walked. "Yer Kup's kid? The one Lord Hound and Lord Mirage like, yeah?"

Orion nodded a bit, hesitant to reveal too much to these strange mechs. The yellow one looked at him carefully, "Never seen a dryad go so far from their tree. Or one with a thing on their back either."

Orion hated the thing on his back and wished it would go away. It itched him sometimes and thanks to it he couldn't lean against his tree like he used to. Even his sprite friends had no idea what it was and the fairies were equally puzzled. He hated that it was so bizarre.

The golden mech moved forward out of the bushes and Orion felt his jaw drop in wonder. The mech was only a mech down to his waist, from there his lower half looked like a sleipnir, only with half the legs.

The red mech also moved forward and revealed that he was the same as the golden mech. The red mech moved towards Orion and then walked past him and plucked a few shards of the dainty lace wing and tucked them into his subspace.

"Yer a long way from home little dryad. You can come with us if ya want. We're headed close to yer papas home."

Orion gave them a wary look before he shook his helm and began to shift away. "I can get home on my own, thank you. I need to go."

Orion scurried to the tree line and began to hurry home only to be lifted off the ground. He screamed in terror, his mind going back to the witch. His scream cut off suddenly when he found himself set behind the back of the red mech. "Hang on tight, little dryad. We'll have you home in a klik."

Orion clung to the back of the red mech as he surged forward and raced through the dense forest faster than Orion had thought possible. As they flew through the forest Orion felt the wind rushing over him and felt his spark begin race in pleasure as he began to enjoy the ride. He gave a whoop when the red mech lept over the banks of a small stream and then again to clear a fallen tree.

Orion felt the ride was over too soon when they at last arrived at the gate that lead to his home. Papa Kup was heading to the cabin but turned at the sound of them and headed out to meet them.

Papa Kup lifted down Orion and set him down on the ground before he turned to the two odd mechs. "Thank yah, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker. We were worried about him."

The two mechs dipped their helms and waved before they headed off into the forest.

Papa Kup turned to Orion and dropped to his knees. "Sparkling, yah had us scared strutless. What were yah thinkin'? Do yah have any idea how worried we were? Yer papa Reflector started to lose leaves he was so worried. Sparklin' at least /tell// us when yer leavin. Yah almost gave meh a spark attack."

Orion looked down at his peds, and then gave his papa a hug. "Sorry, Papa. I didn't mean to worry you."

Papa Kup scooped him up and carried him inside the fence to Papa Reflector's tree. As soon as they got close enough, Orion was scooped up by Papa Reflector's vines and pulled up into his branches. Papa Reflector drew him into a tight hug with all three of his frames. "Oh sparkling! You had us so worried."

Orion squirmed in his papas holds and looked up at his papas, "I'm sorry papa! I didn't mean to worry you! I just wanted to get the crystals."

Papa Reflector's Viewfinder frame looked at Orion in confusion. "What crystals? You should have told papa Kup and he would have helped you."

Orion turned and looked down at Papa Kup on the ground who nodded. "Ah would have, sparklin'. Yah know ah would take yah, and make sure yer safe."

Orion reached into his subspace with one servo and pulled out the small box, "But look Papas! I got it, and it didn't break!"

Papa Reflector looked inside the box with a small smile and then froze. "K-kup! He, he has lacewing! Unbroken lacewing!"

Papa Kup gasped down on the ground. "Sparkling, where did you find that?"

Orion looked down at his papa on the ground, "It was growing on top of the hill where the two ... weird mechs found me. It was growing with the other pretty crystals."

Papa Reflector looked down at him quickly, "What other crystals? Can you show me them, sweetspark?"

Orion put his small box back in his subspace and pulled out the larger one. "These ones Papa. Aren't they pretty?"

Papa Reflector stared at the contents of the box with huge optics, then lowered Orion with his vines and then dropped down and pulled Papa Kup over. "Look, Kup! Cora! Golden and Orange Cora!"

Papa Kup looked inside the box and his jaw went slack. Both his papas stared at his crystals and Orion became worried. Was there something wrong with his crystals? Were they bad crystals?

"I'm sorry Papas. I didn't mean to get bad crystals! I'll get rid of them!"

Papa Kup scooped up Orion and cuddled him close. "Oh sparkling, no. Yer crystals aren't bad. They are very, very good crystals. Very rare crystals. Yah didn't do anything wrong."

Papa Reflector pet Orion's helm and pressed a kiss to his helm. "You did nothing wrong, sweetspark. These are very good crystals, they are very helpful."

Orion cuddled against his papas and smiled, glad he had found the crystals. He then frowned and looked up at his papas. "Who /were// those two mechs? They were strange."

Papa Kup pet Orion's helm, "Those were the centaur twins, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. They're good mechs. They and their brother are from a small herd of centaurs, only five of them at the moment. Just the twins and their brother, Red Alert as well Red Alert's mate Inferno and his sister Firestar."

Orion cocked his helm, "What about their papas? Where are they?"

Papa Kup got a solemn look on his faceplates. "They lost their papas. Their old herd drove them and their brother out when a new King-sire mech took over the herd. Their carrier had no choice. So they formed a herd with other outcasts."

Orion looked up at his papa with wide optics, "Why would his papas do that? Papas are supposed to love their sparklings! You and papa Reflector wouldn't do that, right?"

Papa Kup laughed, "Never, bitling. Yer stuck with us. Centaurs are different, some are what are called carriers while others are sires. Sires look for carriers and carriers look for sires."

Orion just looked at his papa feeling even more confused than before. Papa Kup just laughed and pet his helm before saying, "Yeh'll understand when yer older, sparklin'."

Orion knew Papa Kup was very smart, so he just trusted his words and cuddled closer into the hug.

\-------

The rest of the thawing cycle passed swiftly. The centaur twins returned several times, each time stopping by to ask for some crystals or a few crystal flowers. It seemed the centaur twins were trying to woo a bot. One who had a sweet dente and enjoyed lovely crystal flowers.

Every time Orion tried to find out more by asking about the bot they were courting, Sideswipe would hem and haw while Sunstreaker would flush a deep red and look away before trying to change the subject. Orion took the hint and tried more subtle ways of finding things out.

There were reasons that dryads were known as gossips and rumor mongers. It was probably the reason why the two centaur mechs didn't want to discuss whom they were courting. What few knew was that dryads had their own resources to find things out, namely the trees.

Trees heard everything and whispered the events of the forests to dryads. Dryads could find out nearly anything they wanted.

Orion barely had to ask to find out what he wanted and needed to know. The mech the twin centaurs were courting was from another herd entirely, one made up of alicentaurs. He was apparently the youngest of four brothers in what was essentially a bachelor herd. Bluestreak was a mostly gray mech with the lower frame a soft dappled gray and wide gray and white wings. He had red accents in a few places and bright blue optics. Several of the trees had good things to say about him, that he only took already dead wood from their trees, that he never used living trees for his target practice and that he was always careful when picking fruit from the boughs to not cause more damage.

Orion smiled at all the information, he would grow more of the cloudy crystals that looked almost gray instead of white. His datapads all said that it was proper to gift presents in your intended's colors. He also asked Rhinox and the newly arrived Botanica to focus on helping some of the sweetest crystals to grow faster so he would have plenty for the twins the next time they came.

He hoped he would get to meet this Bluestreak some sol. He sounded very nice and anybot who could put up with the twin centaurs was somebot he wanted to meet. They had always been nice enough to him, but he suspected that had been mostly due to Papa Reflector snapping his vines at them whenever they went too close to his tree and hissed at them to 'slagging be nice to our sapling' with much baring of their very sharp dente.

Most bots did as they were told after that.

However he had heard from the trees that the twin centaurs had a bit of a bad reputation. They were known to be aggressive and had a history of playing pranks on unsuspecting bots. He liked to believe they would not have played any pranks on him even if Papa hadn't warned them not to.

The twins did have a good side though, which must be what this Bluestreak mech saw in them. Sunstreaker was apparently a crystal and stone sculpter of no little fame while Sideswipe was a famed merchant and master vinter of energon wines.

Papa Kup occasionally drank their energon wine but always spent the next sol sick, so Orion wasn't sure what was so great about it.

Papa Reflector didn't like Papa Kup drinking it either. He said it made Papa Kup's energon taste nasty and would sulk for a few sols after Papa Kup would have some.  Papa Reflector liked to grumble that if Papa Kup kept drinking that slag then he would have to go and find some other mech to feed on. A mech who could pull a lot more and carry more weight.

Papa Kup had growled and grabbed Papa Reflector's nearest frame before he dragged them into the cabin and pulled in the latch string.

Orion had heard very strange sounds come from within the cabin and at one point Papa Reflector's tree actually shuddered which had scared him. He had tried to get one of the sprites to open the door but they said his papas would be fine when they came back out.

He had tried to get a peek at what they were doing but all the windows had been shuttered. He grew more concerned though because he could hear Papa Reflector crying out to Primus like he was in pain. He ran to go get Papa Kup's axe to go and help his papa but several of the sprites grabbed the axe and told him to go brush the fluffsheep. He didn't want to brush his fluffsheep, he wanted to save his papa.

When his papas finally emerged, Silverbolt had flown over to Papa Kup and whispered something to him. Papa Kup turned a bright red and covered his faceplates for a moment.  His papa had come over to him and explained that neither he or Papa Reflector had been hurt. "We were playin' a special game is all. Like when ah tickle yah, and yah get all giggly. Like that."

Orion wasn't sure if he believed him about it.

\---------------------------

Two stellars had passed and Orion was feeling oddly again. It felt a lot like the last time he had had what Papa Kup called a growth spurt. He slipped out of his tree and walked over to Papa Reflector's. He knew Papa Reflector was still very tired this recently after he had left his cold cycle recharge but he was worried.

 "Papa? Papa? Can you come out? I feel odd."

Papa Reflector slipped out of his tree, all three frames looked drowsy and blearily looked at Orion. "What's wrong sparkling? Does it feel odd like last time?"

Orion nodded and drew closer to his papas. He just felt so odd....

With a flash of light and an odd POP sound, Orion looked around once he could see again. He was surprised to see that he was able to look his papas almost in the optics now. He looked down at himself to see what else had changed and gasped in amazement. His armor had become slightly crystalline and translucent.

His papas gasped and took him in their arms. "Oh sparkling! Look at you!"

Orion could hardly believe how much he had changed in so short a time. "I want to go show Papa Kup and the sprites and the faeries and the fluffsheep!"

"Show meh what, bitling?"

Orion moved out of Papa Reflector's frames' arms and turned to Papa Kup, "Look Papa! I grew again!"

Papa Kup gaped at him and then drew Orion into a hug of his own, "Primus, sparkling! Look at yah. Yer growin' too fast."

Orion looked up at his papa, "I'm sorry Papa, I can't help it."

Papa Kup drew back from the hug slightly, "Ah know, bitling. Ah just wish yah could be our little sparkling forever. Now look at yah. Yer almost all grown up! Primus! Reflector did you see this? The thing on his back- it's bigger!"

Orion gasped and felt what he could of his back and found Papa Kup was right, the thing was bigger!  "Papa! What is it!? Get rid of it! Get rid of it!"

Papa Reflector stopped his yelling by covering his mouth with a servo, "Calm down, sparkling. You are okay. It isn't hurting anything at the moment so we'll leave it alone. We don't know what will happen if we mess with it."

"Alright papa. I still don't like it though!" With that Orion went to go show his new appearance to his friends the sprites and the faeries.

\--------

A few decacycles had passed and Orion was working on getting special crystals ready. Bluestreak and his herd had finally given in to the twin's prolonged courting and granted permission for them to bond in the cooling cycle. The twins had asked Orion if he would help by growing crystals for display as well as for eating. He had agreed and now was tending to the special crystals.

He had asked Bulkhead and Bumblebee to please bring him some of the lovely pink sweet crystals that grew near their home the next time they came to visit. He had remained friends with his sparkling playmates and they were often visitors. Even now the twin slyphs were in the garden playing with the faeries. Silverbolt and his brothers had become fast friends with the two slyphs and they would play together as often as they could.

Bulkhead and Bumblebee often visited to see the garden and to brush the fluffsheep. Everyone loved the fluffsheep, except Papa Reflector who still looked at them with a hungry look. He was very careful to keep them well away from Papa Reflector, especially in the cooling cycle before he went into recharge. He was careful to count the little flock every night to make sure they were all accounted for. Little Thorn was often found with Oak and the two rams would butt heads and mock fight, while the ewes and ewe lambs grazed and bleated to be groomed.

He could hardly believe how big his garden had become. He had had Papa Kup cut down part of the old crystal wall and replanted it so the garden had become even bigger with several smaller gardens reached by gates attached to the main one. His pride and joy though was a large blue crystal that he had been growing for several stellar cycles. He had asked Papa to see if the carver in the village would be willing to draw up a plan for an altar. As soon as it was a bit bigger he would shape it into an altar to Primus, and be able to give offering here with his Papas.

He reached back and lightly scratched at the thing on his back. It had grown slighty bigger and then gotten very itchy over the last few decacycles. He was very irritated by it. He once again wished that it would go away.

He  looked up to where the sylph twins were playing and sighed. He hadn't seen his friend Hot Rod since the last cooling cycle. He hoped the fireavian mech was alright. He knew the stories of fireavian mechs who were caught and kept by mechs as pets.

He went back to working on his crystals, he had more varieties than he had ever dreamed of as a sparkling. His faerie friends would often bring him small seed crystals when the returned from flying and they grew beautifully for Orion.

His tree's roots had sunk deep into the soil and spread out under his garden, drawing in nutrients from the mass of crystals above them. Orion loved how big and strong his tree had become. He still went inside Papa Kup's cabin sometimes, he stayed there for most of the cold cycles still. His room was filled with his sparkling hood treasures: his ball, his first tiny gardening tools as well as his beloved princess mech doll, Roller and his toy castle papa had carved for him with beautiful furniture in all the rooms.

He loved to sit in his chair next to his papa and look at the pillars carved with images from his families lives. Scenes of his papas, and of him as a bitty. He realized he was just sitting there and remaniscing when he heard Skysdive come flying up to him calling, "Orion! Orion! Quick! Get in your tree, a strange bot is coming."

Orion looked to his Papa's tree and saw Papa Reflector was already slipping inside their trunks and he rushed to his. He slipped inside and listened to what was going on outside.

\-----------

Kup got up out of his chair when he heard some bot knocking at his door, which made him wary. No mech reallly came up into the forest this deep except for him and he knew his mates and sparkling wouldn't need to knock at all. He opened the door and was surprised to see the young- not so young any more- mech, Hoist who had almost picked his sparkling's fruit. "Hoist. What do yah want?"

Hoist looked flustered and didn't make optic contact with Kup. "Could...Could...I heard you had some of the Herculanium crystals. I can see that it's true and was hoping I could have a seed crystal or two."

Kup glared at the mech, "Yah came out here ta ask meh for mah crystals? Mah sparklin's crystals? After yah tried ta steal mah bonded's special fruit?"

Hoist's optics got big, "Your bonded's fruit?"

Kup grumbled and thought fast. "Mah bonded's people say that if that kinda tree grows a fruit that stays until the cold cycle arrives then the one who cares for the tree will spark. Yah almost had him think we would never have bitlings!"

Hoist blushed deeply, "I had no idea...I am so sorry!"

Kup grumped at the mech then turned inside after a snarled, "Wait!"

When he returned he threw a small pouch at Hoist. "There, now get out!"

Hoist caught the bag and took off away from the cabin and down the path to the village. As soon as he was gone, Orion came to Kup. "That was the mech who tried to eat me when I was just a seed papa?"

Kup drew his sparkling close just thinking about what had almost happened was frightening still. "Yah he was. He won't come back if'n he's smart."

Orion looked up at Kup. "I could make sure he doesn't if you want? I have enough seed crystals I could hide the cabin. I could even make a little maze to make it even harder for bots to find their way in!"

Kup liked the sound of that actually. He liked to keep bots away, since they were a threat to his family. "Okay sparkling, make your maze. Just be sure to leave yer papa's hunting area alone alright?"

"Yes Papa!"


	3. Blossoming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Orion matures and new arrivals bring more changes.

It had taken all of the warm cycle but the crystal maze was growing well. In no time at all it would be big enough that Papa Kup wouldn't be able to find his way just be looking at it anymore. Orion had asked the faeries that lived in his gardens, over a dozen now flitting about, if they would guide his papa inside the maze until he memorized the route. He had also planted soft crystal grasses inside the maze walls to make a soft path as well giving his not so little flock of fluffsheep more grazing area.

There had been another batch of lambs and now he had an amazing thirty-two little miniature fluffsheeps underped. Oak had looked completely smug and proud while Thorn had look pleased and all the ewes had gotten so fat again. He really needed to stop letting his Papa Kup care for the fluffsheep when they got all 'twitterpatted'. Papa spoiled them and they got fat!

The hardest part of making the maze in fact was making sure Papa Reflector could still get in to where Papa Kup's cabin was but still having a hunting area for him to catch his prey in. It had finally been figured out that Papa Reflector could by-pass the maze entirely. One of Papa Reflector's tree trunks had a large branch that would go over the wall. No mech would try to use it to get in, since Papa would just....well, eat them. Orion had planted a large carving crystal under where the branch crossed the wall and was shaping it into a rough series of steps to help his Papas' frames get up and down. He wanted Papa Reflector to be able to get to and from his tree with ease.

Everything was slowly coming together. The only dark spot was from the centaur twins. Their herd as well as the herd of their betrothed had all caught a sickness. They had had to postpone the bonding until the next cooling cycle when everyone would be healthy. Orion had taken it with good grace and kept on growing the crystals even bigger. There would be a feast by the time the bonding ceremony occurred next cooling cycle. Orion had sent Sideswipe away with a basket of crystals that helped heal and had said for him to come back if he needed more.

Silverbolt and his brothers as well as the newly arrived faeries had agreed to lead mechs through the maze if Orion or Kup knew them; thus his friends who couldn't fly, like the centaur twins as well as Bulkhead and Bumblebee could still visit. Papa Kup would bring home rocks he would find sometimes and had a small pile next to the cabin for Bulkhead to snack on when he visited.

He liked it when his friends came to see him. He was so busy with his garden anymore that he didn't seem to have the time to go anywhere. He was working on the expansions of the garden, and deciding what to plant was a challenge. His newest area had a small spring of solvents that flowed out under the crystal walls. The spring made a small pond on the surface and he had asked the faeries to see if they could find him any of the pretty floating crystals that grew on some of the lakes.

He had never had the opportunity to grow those crystals before and was looking forward to it. Papa Kup had built a small gazebo close to the little pond. It was going to be so pretty when the thawing cycle came! He could hardly wait. He was already planning on moving the rarer crystals and the more delicate ones into this wing of the garden. It would be beautiful! He would have to ask Lord Mirage for any advice he could get for the floating solvent crystals first though.

\--------

Orion looked over his fluffsheep herd. There were only twenty left, nineteen ewes and Oak. Thorn and several of the other ewes had been given to a group of sprites. Cosmos had said that the herd was getting too big, and had talked to other sprites to find his fluffsheep a good home- a good home that was not inside Papa Reflector's tanks.

He loved his papa, but he wasn't that naive.

So his smaller flock would graze around the crystals and on the paths of the maze with faeries and sprites watching over them. He was glad that his original fluffsheep were still here at least. He loved them so much.

His garden was beautiful and almost ready for the cold cycle to start. He had made dozens of tiny meshes for the sprites and faeries, Papa Kup had checked all the tiny chimneys and ensured that each sprite had a good solid stone for their hearth and that the inside of the fireplaces was well daubed with clay. 

The faeries had all moved into the cabin, flitting about the rafters above their helms. It made thing interesting to say the least inside the cabin when they began playing their usual games of tag or hide and seek above their heads. Papa Kup had gotten up from his comfy chair by the fire and had gotten smacked square in the face by Fireflight. Fireflight had been so apologetic over hitting him, explaining he had been looking at the carvings on the pillars and gotten distracted. Papa Kup had eventually laughed it off and sat back down in his chair, but he was more cautious when he was getting up now.

Papa Reflector had begun to feed more often, storing nutrients for his long recharge over the cold cycle. Orion had sprinkled a few of the sweet crystals around the roots of his papas tree and all three of his papa's frames had said how much better fueled they were this cycle. Orion tried to ignore the sounds that came from over the crystal wall when his papas were feeding though. He didn't like them, or to think about what they were doing.

He was actually feeling a bit odd himself, the bump on his back had begun to itch again but then had stopped one sol. Orion found it a bit puzzling to say the least. He sighed and went back to where his smallest loom was set up under his tree's shade. He was making more fabric so he could make clothing for the sprites and faeries to keep warm with. They all seemed to be so greatful when the snows came. He had even made special sheathes for the faeries to use on their wings when they weren't flying. He had had Fireflight try them on and the little faerie had all but melted and purred his happiness.

Papa Kup had begun stockpiling his woodpile for the cold cycle and taking more trips into the village to get supplies for the cold cycle as well. Everything was shaping up to be a nice cold cycle all in all.

\-------------

The cold cycle had gone well so far and they were more than halfway through the season. Orion had awakened one sol feeling very odd. His bump on his back had itched even more than it ever had before and had slowly swollen up until it was much bigger than before. Orion had felt stranger and stranger as the sols went by until at last when there were no more than three decacyles left of the cold cycle, he had gone to Papa Kup and said, "Papa, I don't feel so good. I am going to rest in my tree and see if that will help."

Papa Kup hugged him and drew him close in a hug. "Whatever it takes fer yah ta be okay, bitling. Ah just want yah ta be okay. Yah go rest."

Orion had gone out to his tree and sunk into it gratefully, the odd feeling fading as the warm darkness within his tree welcomed him. He loved his tree and could feel how much better he felt within it.

\-------------------------------------

Kup was growing worried. His sparkling had gone to rest in his tree three decacycles ago and had not emerged from his tree once since then. He hoped his bonded emerged soon so he could ask him if this normal or not.

He didn't see any signs of anything being wrong with Orion's tree. It had plenty of buds all over its branches and soon they would open as they did every stellar. Reflector's tree was likewise covered in buds. Soon he would be covered in the beautiful blossoms that bedecked his bondeds in the thawing cycle. He loved how beautiful his bonded looked when he was covered in his blossoms, they always smelled so good and made Reflector look even more lovely than usual.

He was rewarded later that sol when three sets of arm wrapped around him and pressed fervent kisses to his helm and lips. "Our Kup, we have missed you so these longs decacycles. Is our sparkling safely occupied?"

Kup paused for a moment at that, which Reflector picked up on at once, "Our Kup? What is wrong? Where is our sparkling?! Is something wrong?!"

Kup drew Reflector's frames closer to his own, "Ah don't know. He said he was feeling odd and wanted to rest in his tree. That was three decaycles ago and he ain't been out since then."

Reflector gasped and cuddled Kup for a moment before heading to Orion's tree with Kup. They both looked over their sparkling's tree and could see nothing wrong.

"There is no reason he should still be inside, my Kup."

Kup sighed, "I was afraid of that. Hopefully he will come out soon."

\---------------------------

Another two decacyles passed and Orion's garden bloomed and blossomed as did Reflector's tree. Orion's tree remained mere buds though and Orion remained within his tree.  The fluffsheep herd would wander under Orion's tree and bleat mournfully before eventually heading to the pasture when he didn't appear. All the sprites and faeries were growing worried as well as each sol went by without Orion coming out.

Cosmos was the one who noticed it first. He had been moving away the fallen leaves that had been piled up around Orion's roots to protect them from the snow and it was now time to clear it away. Cosmos gasped and called out "KUP! REFLECTOR!!! COME HERE!!!"

When Kup and Reflector arrived shortly after, Cosmos had shakily pointed to his discovery: Orion's bark was peeling off.

Reflector gasped and reached out a shaking servo to almost touch before drawing back. "Oh Kup! What has happened to our sapling?"

Kup drew Reflector's frame against him as he stared in horror at the damage.

What was wrong with their sparkling?

\---------------

Orion yawned and twitched before onlining his optics. He was greeted by a familiar darkness and a comforting warmth. He must be in his tree. He shifted, and was amazed at how much better he felt now. He moved and emerged from his tree and was startled by a loud cracking sound like ice breaking. Orion turned in surprise and almost fell as he overbalanced. There was something on his back but for the moment he was staring in awe at his tree.

His tree had turned crystalline, and his branches were covered in crystalline leaves and blossoms that smelled sweeter than anything he had smelled before. His tree was beautiful.

"O-orion? Is that you?"

Orion looked over and saw Cosmos staring at him in shock, "Cosmos? What's wrong? Of course it's me. The garden looks beautiful, but how long did I recharge for everything to have grown so much?"

Cosmos gulped, "Y-you were in your tree for six decacycles, Orion. You had us and your Papas worried sick."

Orion gasped at the idea of being in recharge for so long. He turned to the cabin or tried to, but the weight on his back made it hard to do anything. "Papa? Papa!"

Papa Kup and Papa Reflector came running towards him from different directions, Papa Kup from the cabin and Papa Reflector over the wall. Both of them gasped when they saw him and his tree.

"Sparkling! Yer alright! Yah had us so worried! Look at yah!"

"Orion! Oh sapling, you had so frightened! Your bark was peeling! Oh Orion, your back!"

Orion tried to look and see what everyone was talking about but all he could see was something blue. Something blue? "Papa? What is on my back?"

Papa Kup gave Orion an odd look. "Wait here, sparkling."

Papa Kup went into the cabin and came out holding the long mirror he had bought long ago for Papa Reflector. Papa Kup brought the mirror over to Orion and let him see his reflection.

Orion stared in shock. His armor was crystalline, nearly see through in transparency. He has tiny crystalline blooms littering his frame in soft reds and blues. The most amazing change though was his back, the bump was gone. In its place was a large blooming crystal flower. Six long blue petals grew from where the bump had been, three to each side of his frame. Layered over the blue petals were three deep red petals with one straight up behind his helm and the other two framing his waist and aft.

He had never seen such a beautiful blossom before in his life.

"Papa, is that really me?"

Papa Reflector's frame drew Orion into a hug, careful not to rumple his blossoms. "It's you sapling. You're growing up is all. You are now a mature dryad."

"A mature dryad? You mean I'm an adult?"

"Not yet, sapling. You are an adult when your roots hit the solvent table in the soil and are no longer dependant on the creek or rain."

"I see. Do you know why I have a blossom on my back?"

Reflector's frames shifted around behind Orion and began to examine their sparkling while Orion waited for the verdict. "We don't know for certain, but it may have to do with the fact you are a cyber-fly bush dryad."

"A cyber-fly bush dryad? You mean I am different from most dryads?"

"Yes, sparkling. Most dryads are either like me and hunt prey or eat plants and fruits from trees as well as drinking solvents. You eat crystals because you need them to remain crystal it seems. We are just glad you are safe. Remember Orion, we love you very much and Papa Kup does as well. You are our precious, precious sparkling sapling."

Orion hugged his papas carefully and sighed as the panic he had felt faded away in front of his papa's love.

\--------------------------

The thawing cycle was going well: there were no new lambs this year, the garden was growing amazingly well, and Papa Kup and Papa Reflector were off making weird sounds in the cabin again. Papa Reflector kept saying he needed to talk to Orion about something, explaining about cyber-bees or some such? Orion didn't know nor did he have much time to worry about it. There was just so much to do.

Papa Reflector had asked him to gather his bark that had fallen off when his tree went crystalline and although not knowing why he would want it, Orion had gathered it all together. When he had brought to his papas, Papa Kup had gone to a cupboard and brought out a blanket wrapped bundle, that when it was revealed turned out to be a large pot. The pot was dusty but he could see it was a pale blue with cyberflies and vines with blossoms. It was very pretty really.

His papas had put his bark inside the pot and then rewrapped it and placed it back into the cupboard. Papa Kup looked from the wrapped pot in the cupboard to Orion and shook his helm. "Yah know, bitling, that pot was yer first home?"

Orion looked at Papa Kup in confusion, "My first home? What do you mean?"

Papa Kup smiled, "Yer Papa Reflector and ah planted yah in that pot, and ah took care of yah fer the cold cycle. We planted yah tree outside when the thaw came, but yah sprouted in that pot."

Orion looked back at where the covered pot sat and was amazed that he and his tree had been that small. It was hard to believe but his papas would not fib about something like this. He gave his papas each a hug and told them, "I love you Papa."

\----------------

Orion was sitting in his garden on one of the benches he had carved and was quietly practicing his harp Papa Kup had made for him. He was becoming very good and the sprites and faeries liked to listen to him play as they did various tasks or played overhead.

He was so intent on his music that he didn't hear anything amiss until it was too late. A harsh laughing sound came from the other side of the crystal wall and when Orion turned to see what it was he was shocked to see a strange mech climbing over the wall. Orion jumped up and the faeries scattered and the sprites rushed away.

Orion glared at the mech, "I don't know who you are, but get off my wall and get away from my garden!"

The strange mech paid him no mind and sniffed the air in great loud sniffs that Orion could hear from where he was standing. As he watched, the mech dropped down over the wall into his garden and Orion could not help but stare at the mech.

The mech was huge, bigger than even Bulkhead was now, and he had strange hairy legs and his peds were hooves but not like the hooves of the centaur twins, these hooves split in the front. On top of all that the mech had two small horns on his helm that were kind of like the horns Oak had but less curly.

The mech sniffed at the air and then stared directly at Orion before giving him a creepy smile. To Orion's shock and horror the mech came charging at him! Frightened Orion screamed and ran along his path out of the garden and back into the main garden towards his tree. The bigger mech raced along behind him and Orion felt the mech just miss one of his blossom petals before he slipped into his tree. He curled up on himself as he sat in his tree.

He could hear the mech outside. "Come out little mech! Come out and play! Come on out little dryad." 

Orion waited for one of his papas to come and save him from this horrible mech.

He heard his Papa Kup begin to yell and Papa Reflector's three frames began to shriek for the mech to get away from the tree. Soon he heard the sound of Papa Kup's lasermusket being fired and the heavy hoof beats of the mech faded as he ran away. He stayed inside his tree until at last he heard his Papa Reflector call out for him. "Orion, sweet spark you can come out now."

Orion peeked out from inside his tree and looked around before he raced into Papa Reflector's frames arms. "Oh Papa! I was so scared! That horrible mech chased me and came running at me! What did he want?"

Papa Reflector looked sad. "Follow us, Orion. We need to have a talk. Come inside the cabin and we will explain."

Orion followed his papas inside and when they were in the cabin Papa Kup locked the door by pulling in the latch string. Papa Reflector led him to his chair by the fire and Papa Kup sat down in his own chair while Papa Reflector's other two frames brought three stools for them to use. 

"Now Orion, you are now a mature dryad. There are important things you need to know."

Orion looked at his papas curiously, "Important things like what Papa?"

Reflector's three frames exchanged glances, "First of all, that mech was what is known as a Satyr. Satyrs can smell when a dryad comes of age; they can smell the scent of your blossoms. Your blossoms are... more potent than most dryads since you are a cyber-fly bush dryad. This means we will have more of the nasty things prowling around. Thankfully your crystal walls and the maze have kept most of them away and the one who did manage to get in was only able to do so because of how big he was."

Orion's optics got huge. "T-there will be more of those horrible things?"

Papa Kup patted his knee, "Don't worry, bitling. Ah'll drive 'em away. Ah won't let 'em get my sparkling."

Orion looked back at Papa Reflector, "But why do they want to get me so bad?"

Papa Reflector's frames all shifted nervously. "They, that is they... Um. Sparkling, the truth is that they want to catch you so they can... try to make fruits with you."

Orion stared at his Papa. "Make... fruits? With me? But... I don't even know who they are! Why would I make fruits with them?"

Papa Reflector moved closer to Orion, drawing him into a hug. "Satyrs try to make fruits with any dryad they can catch, except for dryads like I am. Even satyrs know not to try that with a mech eating dryad."

Papa Kup was glaring as he looked into the fire burning on the hearth while cleaning his lasermusket.

Orion looked back at Papa Reflector, "Papa, how could I? I don't know how to make fruits!"

Papa Reflector and Papa Kup turned a funny shade of red. "Sparkling. Orion, when you became mature this last growth jump you gained a special panel. This panel is a special one because it covers up your interfacing array. You see sparkling, when two mechs love each other...."

Papa Kup turned red and left for his room at that point.

Half a joor later, Orion was looking at his papa in horrified shock, "And then they plant the seed and wait for it to sprout. When the sapling grows big enough a new dryad emerges."

Orion sat blinking at his Papas. His papas who did... that with his papa Kup... No! It was not something he was going to think about. Ever. Never ever. He shuddered in revulsion.

Papa Reflector patted Orion's knee, "Don't worry, Orion. Your Papa and I will keep the satyrs away from you."

 Orion nodded and looked away, unable to meet his papas’ optics at the moment.

 ------------------

 Kup sat in his chair looking into the fire. His sparkling was alright, he tried to remind himself. However he kept thinking back to running out of the cabin and seeing that satyr prowling around his precious sparkling's tree had been terrifying for him. The very idea of his bitling subjected to that kind of attack made his spark freeze.

He hadn't even known satyrs were prowling around outside of the crystal wall and maze that concealed the entrance to their home. He was glad most of them could not get in but that just meant that /some// would. He needed a way to keep his sparkling safe.

He then thought of something he hadn't thought of in a very long time. Kup got out of his chair and went into his room to a small chest he kept locked up tight. Inside were his most precious possessions: a few medals he had earned in the army, a piece of cloth from the first cloak Reflector had made for him, one of Orion's first leaves, a few pieces of gold and orange cora, and at the very bottom, a small flute.

Kup pulled the small flute out carefully. He still had two wishes and he would save the last one for Orion. His sparkling would one sol need to find some mech of his own and might need some help. Although he thought Orion got along quite well with the fire avian mech Hot Rod, in fact he may need to have words with the mech later.

Playing the flute brought a puff of smoke and an angry little red mech. "It's about time, what you want!"

Kup looked at Cliffjumper, "Ah need yah tah make the crystal walls grow as high as yah can, except fer a gap where Reflector's tree comes over the wall. Leave a gap fer him to come in and out of."

Cliffjumper gave him an odd look, then understanding seemed to dawn, "Satyrs showed up then?"

Kup sighed and nodded, "Yup."

Cliffjumper shook his helm, "Alright, one giant wall coming up."

With a flash of smoke and a deep rumbling from the ground there was a bright flash of light. Kup hurried outside and saw that the crystals that made the walls had grown high enough that only the very tops of the trees could be seen over it. There was a small gap around the branch of Reflector's tree that came over, well now through, the wall and was just big enough for Reflector to get through.

Perfect.

He saw Orion hurry over and Reflector was examining the pathway for him with delight. "Did you do this, my Kup? It is brilliant, now none of those filthy satyrs will get near our sparkling."

Orion looked at him with awe, "Papa, did you do that? I never saw crystals grow so fast!"

Kup drew them close and smiled. He would protect his family.

\------------------------

Orion sat carving a crystal near his tree. He was very cautious after the satyr had tried to get him. Papa Kup had gotten the design plan from the village the last time he had been there and now Orion was ready to begin carving his altar to Primus. It would probably take until the cooling cycle but it would hopefully be ready before the centaur twins' bonding so he could offer crystals to Primus to ask for a blessing on them.

Carefully Orion carved the design, which was full of blossoms, trees and mechanimals, into the crystal changing a few of the details such as making the trees either his own or his papas and replacing the mechanimals with his fluffsheep, the sprites, the faeries, and his sparklinghood friends. He added his Papas to the mechs the design called for and repeated them over and over alongside him.

He had already carved out the design lightly; he would have to carve it out fully over the rest of the stellar. He carefully began to carve deeper, adding more depth and texture as well as more details.

After a few joors he took a break and went to the small gazebo Papa Kup had built for him in his newest part of the garden. There he had his harp, and began to play. He watched the beautiful floating crystals that grew on the small pond and the many rare and beautiful crystals that surrounded it.

He loves this garden very much; it is so peaceful and quiet. 

Peace and quiet as well as distant from where his papas are... busy.

Orion shivered and played his harp a little louder just to be on the safe side.

\-----------------------

With the fading of the thawing cycle, the blossoms on Orion's tree had faded and fallen off. The blossom on his back, remained however and was as vibrant and beautiful as ever. Unfortunately that meant that the Satyrs remained and kept trying to get at Orion.

Papa Reflector was the only one happy about that, as foolish satyrs kept trying to get into Orion's garden through the seemingly unprotected hole in the wall. They soon realized the folly of that assumption but did not live long enough to regret it. Papa Reflector had been most hopeful that Orion's blossom would last until the cooling cycle so he would have plenty of available fuel before he went into recharge.

Orion sat in the gazebo once again, enjoying the shade it offered during the sols of the hot cycle.

Orion began to play his harp to pass the time as he enjoyed the cooler air in the shade. His peace was disturbed when the sylph twins came flying down and landed in the garden. "Orion! Orion! We are needing your help!"

Orion put down his harp and hurried over to Jetstorm and Jetfire. "What's wrong? What happened?"

Jetstorm grabbed Orion's arms, "Orion, it is being horrible! Horrible! Sunstreaker and Sideswipe are being in a rage! Bluestreak and Prowl with his brothers Smokescreen and Barricade are having been stolen! Mechnapped, Orion, they are having been mechnapped!"

Orion gasped at the idea of so many going missing from the bachelor herd of centaurs, especially the mech the twins had wooed and seemed to have won. "By whom? Do they have any clues? The twins must be going out of their processors!"

Anyone who knew the twins knew that they loved Bluestreak with their entire spark. Whoever was responsible was going to pay and pay dearly for this!

Jetfire and Jetstorm shook their helms, "No is knowing! They went to get a drink from a stream and they were not coming back. No sign of them was being anywhere!"

Orion frowned at that. "I will let my papas know. You two go let everyone else know. If we hear anything we will have the faeries let you know to come back."

The two sylphs nodded and flew away to continue their warning. Orion watched them fly away before heading to the cabin to let Papa Kup know about the mysterious disappearance of four winged centaur mechs.

Papa Kup was sitting in his chair by the fire, drinking his energon and resting since he had just come back from harvesting wood out in the forest. "Papa! The sylph brothers just came here! They had urgent news!"

Papa Kup looked up at Orion concerned. "What's happened, bitling?"

Orion moved next to his papa and knelt by his chair, "Oh Papa! It is horrible! Four winged centaur mechs have disappeared! Mechnapped!"

Papa Kup sat up straight at that, "What?! How?!"

Orion shook his helm, "No one knows! They went to drink from a stream and never came back. Papa, it was Bluestreak and his brothers who went missing! The twins are frantic!"

Papa Kup's optics widened, "Ah can understan' why! Primus! So many! Ah have no idea who could'a done such a thin'. Ask yer Papa Reflector to send word to the other dryads and both a yah ask the trees."

Orion nodded and head out to tell Papa Reflector.

\-------------

The hot cycle was drawing to a close and still no sign of the missing centaur mechs. The centaur twins had gone rampaging through the great forest in search of the missing centaurs and especially after their missing betrothed. No mech had any doubts how much they loved Bluestreak anymore.

Orion had asked the trees for any news everysol but no news was forth coming. Papa Reflector had asked the remote dryad communities if they had heard anything about four winged centaur mechs in their territories. No community had seen anything as of yet.

Papa Kup had gone wandering around the village and asked some of his old friends if there was anything new in the village or up in the town where the Magistrate lived. No one had heard of anything too new, beyond the usual bondings and arrivals of sparklings.

Even Hound, the great Leshii had begun to take notice the longer time went with neither word nor sight of the missing mechs. Fear spread through the forest as all the creatures within it went on their guard.

\-----

Bluestreak whimpered and shifted closer to his brother.

Or as close as he could get inside this horrible wooden pen he had been trapped in for so long. He could see Prowl in a similar pen to his left and Smokescreen on his right, but Barricade had to be in one of the other pens he couldn't see.

He didn't know why the horrible mechs had brought them here. He just wanted to get back to the forest, get back to Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. He was supposed to be getting bonded soon.

He felt optical lubricants well up in his optics and spill down his cheekarches. He couldn't even wipe them away with his arms trapped behind his back by the restraints. He could hear Prowl shift anxiously in the pen next to him and he pressed as close as he could get to the wall that separated them.

He couldn't even speak to his brothers! That was the worse part. The collars the mechs who had captured them had strapped on them made it impossible to actually speak. He could only make a few sounds such as whimpers and sighs.

The sound of peds in the hall outside of the pens made Blue press harder into the corner hoping they would not take him or his brothers this time. Hoping they would take one of the oddly tame slepneirs instead. He hated when the mech came for his brothers or him and they were forced outside to...

To Blue's dismay, the door to his pen opened and the mech slowly entered giving him a wide berth before clipping the lead to the horrible contraption that they had forced on him and his brothers' helms. Light applications of a shock stick persuaded Blue that he had better go with them, although Prowl and Smokey were stomping their rage in the neighboring pens as Blue was led away.

Outside he led to a large area fenced in with a high fence he couldn't jump over and the mech with the whip was standing in middle again with one of the stupid tame slepneir held near the opening. Blue tried to pull away as he forced next to the poor stupid thing but ended up tied to it.

The mech with the whip cracked it against Blue's hindquarters and made him start forward in shock. The stupid slepneir began to move forward walking at a slow pace and forcing Blue to do the same while the mech in the middle repeated over and over, 'Walk'.

Was the mech an idiot?

Another flick of the whip brought it back onto his hindquarter again and he squealed and tried to break away from the slepneir by rearing up and trying to snap the lines tieing them together. He dropped back down when he realized he couldn't get free and the slepneir began to move a jogging pace.

The idiot mech in the middle began to repeat over and over, "Trot, Trot."

Blue heaved a big sigh. He wanted to go home.

\------------

Prowl glared at the mechs who had taken his little brother out of the neighboring pen. When he next saw those mechs who had dared to poison their stream with that slag that put them into recharge they were deactivated. He could see Barricade in the pen next to him and his younger brother seemed as angered as he was.

All three of the brothers felt very protective of Bluestreak. After all he was their foal brother, the very youngest. He had barely grown out of being a colt a few stellars ago. It was bad enough when those two twins had begun to court their littlest brother but they did not stop it when Blue accepted them. This however would not do.

Prowl looked into Bluestreak's pen and could just make out Smokescreen's angry form. As soon as they had a chance they were getting out of here. Prowl stamped as he looked back towards the area his littlest brother had been taken and vowed if they had hurt him, they would be trampled beneath his own hooves.

\--------------

Blue was sore and tired by the time he was finally untied from the slepneir and led back into his pen. His brother's on both sides perked up and tried to look him over as best as they could through the walls of the pens. The mechs untied the leash from his bindings and left him loose in the pen once more.

He shifted closer to Prowl, his optics swimming with optical lubricants as he pressed as close as he could get. Silent sobs shook his frame and his brothers nickered softly in the only way they could comfort him at the moment. Blue shifted again and sighed as he heard Prowl stamp as he noticed the marks on his flank. The thin whip marks stung a bit but were more humiliating than painful.

He hoped they got out of here soon. He didn't know how much more of this he could take.

\----------------------------

Orion looked around at the leaves falling from his tree now that the cooling cycle had arrived in earnest. There had been no news about the missing centaurs and the twins were becoming more and more homicidal with each passing sol.

However, that was about to change.

Papa Kup came stomping out of the cabin where he had just put his basket of supplies down. He headed over to Orion with a determined look on his faceplates. "Sparkling, Ah may have some news. Ah heard a rumor in the village."

Orion looked at his Papa in surprise; Papa Kup normally paid no mind to rumors in the village. Especially since most of them were about him from what Papa said.

"Ah was talking to Quicktrade. He had just come back from a trip to Town. He said the whole town is talking 'bout how the Magistrate had some rare new kind of mechanimal that he was training up. Now ah wouldn't have paid no mind, if it wasn't fer him saying that the Magistrate had /four// of them!"

Orion gave his papa a look of shock. "Four?! You don't think...?"

Papa Kup nodded, "We ain't had any better leads. Ah think yah should tell those twins, so they can go and see fer themselves."

Orion nodded and rushed to find one of the faeries to go let them know they had a lead.

Woe betides anyone who tried to stop the twins from finding Bluestreak and his brothers.

\----------------

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker stalked through the forest that surrounded the mech town below. Primus help them if they had been the ones who had stolen their mate and his brothers from them.

They carefully moved around the town, Sideswipe going to the left and Sunstreaker to the right. Once they met up on the other side they shared their findings. Sunstreaker was stamping angrily when Sideswipe arrived. Sideswipe looked at his twin, "What did you find?"

Sunstreaker opened the bond between them and showed him what he had seen and what he had scented on the air. Sideswipe trumpeted his rage as well once his brother was finished. These mechs would pay for what they had done!

\-------

Bluestreak stumbled as he walked next to Prowl. He was so tired. The mechs had dragged Prowl and him out here shortly after the middle of the sol and they hadn't stopped over the many joors since then.

No, instead they had been made to walk around and around in a circle together. As nice as was to be close to Prowl with no wall in the way, he was growing so very tired. They had not even been allowed to rest and drink cool solvents despite the heat of the sol.

Blue plodded along, Prowl nudging him with his shoulders when he stumbled too badly off course and helped keep him going around the stupid circle. Prowl seemed to be holding up better than he was, in fact he seemed more worried about Blue than himself but that was not unusual since arriving at this horrible place.

This new idiocy had begun a few sols prior; instead of being tied to one of the stupid slepneir they were instead attached to a small wheeled thing that they were made to drag behind them. Each sol more and more weight was added to the wheeled contraption. This sol instead of the small wheeled thing a much larger and ornately decorated one had been attached to them. It took everything Prowl and Blue had to get the stupid thing moving and they knew if they stopped they would not be able to get it moving again until they had rested.

A loud angry scream tore through the air and the fence around the grassy area collapsed to the ground. The fallen fence revealed two forms Blue had been dreaming of since they had been taken. He whinnied as loud as could in his tired state and when Sunstreaker looked his way he saw both twins' optics go red with rage. Sunstreaker reared up and lashed out with his hooves at the smaller mechs trying to circle him with their puny ropes. Sideswipe galloped over and frantically kissed Blue over and over while his hands worked on trying to untie them from the wheeled monstrosity they had been pulling. Sideswipe called out to Sunstreaker when he could not get them free from it as quickly as he wanted. Sunstreaker instead took a more direct route and began to rear and punch the horrible device over and over until at last the front of it snapped and although still tied together as well to the broken piece Prowl and Blue were freed from it.

Prowl stomped a hoof and tossed his helm towards the building that held the pens where Smokescreen and Barricade were still being held. Sunstreaker gave Bluestreak a fierce kiss before galloping over to the building and punching the walls with his front hooves until the splintered before his rage while Sideswipe watched over Prowl and Blue.

Blue looked around the grassy area and shifted uneasily, the mechs were still there. They had been knocked to the ground and stomped on by enraged centaurs but some of them were still moving and moaning in pain. He just wanted to go home.

A herd of the stupid slepneir came galloping out of the pen building, followed by Sunstreaker and his remaining two brothers. Bluestreak nickered out in joy at seeing them.

Reunited and free, the six of them raced through the destroyed fence and into the forest towards their home.

\----------------------------

Sentinel fumed in anger. His carriage and his stables were destroyed! His herd of tame slepneir he had bought for a high price scattered! On top of all of that his new prized creatures had fled!

Well. He would just see about that! Sentinel stormed from his library up to his study where he activated a new datapad and began to compose a letter to the Magnus. The Magnus would hopefully send his army to clear out all the dreadful creatures and beasts that prowled in the forest once and for all.

Sentinel rang the bell for his servant to attend him and frowned when it took a full breem. "What took you so long!"

"Apologies sir. I didn't hear the bell due to the medic attending to some of the wounded."

Sentinel sneered. Lazy good for nothings had let stupid beasts destroy his stables and carriage and now were going to lounge about on his credit simply because they were in his employ. Well not for long.

"Downton, as soon as the mechs are fit to walk inform them they are fired. I will not coddle lay-abouts."

"Very good, sir."

\----------------------------

Orion frowned as he watched his Papa Kup work. Papa Kup had been trying for almost a joor now to pick the locks on the bindings that were holding Prowl and Bluestreak chained together as well as chained to a section of broken wood. Papa Kup was manipulating small pieces of metal over and over trying to get the lock to open.

Finally there was a snick as the lock popped open and quickly Sideswipe and Sunstreaker pulled off as much of the bindings as they could. Finally Prowl and Bluestreak free except for the collars on their necks and the cuffs binding their wrists behind their backs.

Sunstreaker was holding Bluestreak, his arms wrapped around Blue's mech waist and nuzzling his neck when he suddenly froze. Sunstreaker unwrapped his arms and moved along Blue's side until he came to Blue's flank and gently put a servo on Blue's hindquarters. Blue hissed in pain as Sunstreaker gently touched the whip marks still marking his hindquarters.

Sunstreaker stamped his rage before pulling Bluestreak closer to him and holding him tight.

Papa Kup looked at where Blue and Sunstreaker were cuddling before moving to Prowl to look over the remaing two sets of locks. Papa Kup examined them carefully and shook his helm. "Ah can't get these locks. The lock's are too small for my picks to fit."

Orion suddenly had an idea and went to his tree. Sure enough, several faeries were sitting in his branches, waiting for leaves to fall for them to ride to the ground. "Silverbolt? Could you and your brothers help me?"

Silverbolt flew over from where he had been sitting and hovered in front of Orion. "What do you need Orion?"

Orion pointed to where the centaurs were standing, "We were wondering if you would mind trying to pick the locks that are on Bluestreak and Prowl. We can''t get them off."

Silverbolt flew over and got his brothers. They flew over and landed on the locks, one faerie each except for the collar on Bluestreak where Fireflight perched to watch Silverbolt work. The faeries went to work, sticking their tiny servos and arms inside the locks to manually manipulate the locks. It took several long breems but at last one by one the locks all popped. The cuffs and collars were removed as fast as they could be safely. Prowl coughed a few times before speaking, "Could you remove Smokescreen and Barricade's as well? They are at the entrance to the maze standing guard."

Silverbolt nodded and flew off with his brothers happily. Shortly after they came flying back and headed back to Orion's tree to play with his leaves again.

Sunstreaker and Sideswipe drew Bluestreak to them, bracketing him on either side as he began to cry and babble about how scared he had been and how he knew they would find him. Sunstreaker silenced his babble with a long sweet kiss and Sideswipe took over when he was done.

Orion lightly touched his own lips. What was so great about kissing that made everyone do it? Orion had begun to wonder such things over the thawing and the hot cycles. He had started looking at how Oak and the rest of flock acted as well. After all his observation of his fluffsheep, Orion had come to a sad conclusion.

He had no ram of his own.

Papa Kup was Papa Reflector's ram, he thought, or vice versa. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker are Bluestreak's rams.

But he had no one.

It made Orion very sad and lonely. Everywhere he looked he saw relationships he had never noticed before and they made him feel left out.

He came to a sad realization: how was he supposed to find a ram of his own? He was a dryad who lived in a walled garden.

He would never find a ram.

\-----------------------

Ultra sighed as he sat in the great library in the palace. His papas had been gone for ten stellars but he still missed them so very much.

He had had no idea how much monotony was a part of ruling. The last ten stellars had been an optic opener for certain. He had had to deal with the Senate as well as the Nobility and all the petty bickering that went along with them.

Now to make matters worse, both the Senate and the Nobles were insisting he take a bride and everyone 'just so happened' to have a family member or an acquaintance would be 'perfect for him."

Primus give him strength.

He had successfully managed to avoid all of those traps for the moment, but like a scraplet swarm smelling live metal, they would be back.

His salvation came in an unexpected form. A messenger brought him a datapad from one of the Magistrates who governed the smaller Provences, in this case a minor noble named Sentinel.

Ultra had heard of Sentinel before, and not in a positive manner. He knew the mech had been the one to send his papa's coronet and necklace back after they had been stolen but there had been rumors that they had in fact been found and turned in to Sentinel by another mech and Sentinel had merely taken the credit.

The truth was that it would not have surprised him, he was well used to the lies the nobles of the court seemed to use as the mood struck them and expected everyone to believe.

The datapad however, offered him an escape.

Magistrate Sentinel it appeared had had his manor attacked by some kind of 'menace from the cursed forest', although the destruction listed seemed very contained. A carriage and the stables? 'What had been in the stables that would warrant an attack,' he wondered. Sentinel then all but demanded, in a tone he did not approve of, that he Ultra Magnus send a force to clear out the unidentified menace from the forest.

An investigation would have to be undertaken. A discreet one.

Ultra Magnus rang the bellpull to summon a servant and he waited for one to arrive.

"I apologize for the delay, your maj-"

"Think nothing of it! I know you are all very busy keeping the palace going. Could you have Master Yoketron's dojo contacted and ask for Jazz and Sky Garry to come along with Master Yoketron to my palace for a private audience? I also need you to contact Medic Ratchet and Sciencemechs Wheeljack and Perceptor. Hmm, and ask Master architect Grapple to come as well. I also need Commander Ironhide."

"Yes, your majesty. When would you like them to come for the audience, your majesty?"

"Have them join me in my private sitting room; we shall take our evening meal then as well."

"Very good, Your Majesty."

\----------

Watching as the mechs filled into his sitting room and made themselves comfortable, Ultra frowned when he saw Perceptor come in with a mech he had never seen before. He walked over to the sciencemech and asked he, "Scientist Perceptor, I requested a private audience. Who is this?"

Perceptor gestured to the bright red and gold mech, "This is my newly bonded, your majesty. May I present Rodimus?"

Ultra took the hand of the young mech and noticed how warm the mech's servo was. "A pleasure, Rodimus. Please join us."

Once everyone had been seated and the meal served, Ultra looked at the gathering of the finest Ninjabots, Scientists, Medic, Architect and Guard he had as well as some of his dearest friends.

"I am sure you are all wondering why I asked you all here. I have received a datapad from one of the Magistrates. He claims his manor was attacked by creatures from the Great Forest. However, I noticed in his information, that only his carriage, stables and training area was attacked. Several mechs also in those areas were injured but none were killed. What do you make of this?"

Master Yoketron spoke softly, "One wonders what was in the stables to arouse such anger from the forest. The beings of the forest venture out but rarely."

Ultra laughed, "Beings, Master Yoketron? What beings? Don't tell you believe the stories of... of... faeries and sprites! Or should we knock on the trees and ask the tree spirits for help?"

Master Yoketron shook his helm, "You laugh now, Magnus because you have never been in the forest. I walked under the trees of the forest in my youth and have seen many wonderous and dark things beneath their leaves."

Ultra studied the great ninja master, "You are serious aren't you? You really have seen these beings?"

Perceptor interrupted, "There have been documented sightings and encounters for vorns, Magnus. Although here in the cities the citizens laugh at the idea and call them old mech tales, for the bots who live on the forest's edge they are fact." 

Ultra looked amazed at the scientist and turned to Wheeljack, "What do you think, Wheeljack?"

Wheeljack looked at the floor, "Your Majesty, the creatures in the forest are real. We don't know how many kinds there are but there are many of them."

Ultra looked amazed by this, "I always thought they were just stories to frighten naughty sparklings."

Even stoic Ironhide shook his helm, "Nah, they're real. Some of 'em even came to our side fer the last big war. Didn't go so well after, bots treated 'em like scrap and they went back to the forest."

Ultra looked thoughtful. "I've decided then. I shall go and investigate this supposed attack and additionally shall survey some of the forest. I wish for all of you to attend me as well as serving as my advisors. We shall go as a small group and I wish to go incognito so as to avoid attracting attention or worse the fawning of the Nobles in the region."

\--------------------

Arriving at the small town was an optic opener for Ultra Magnus. The entire town could have fit in one wing of the palace and rattle. There were so few buildings and mechs, and to know that there were even smaller villages was amazing.

Ironhide along with Ultra and Grapple headed down the small main road with Master Yoketron and Jazz as their guards. They soon arrived at the overly large Magistrate's manor, which obviously did not need to be this big in so small a village.

A sneering mech opened the door and cast a supercilious optic over them. "May I help you something?"

Ironhide stepped forward, "We have been sent by the Magnus to investigate an attack that allegedly occurred here."

The sneering mech's face blanked and then became obnoxiously subservient, "Oh, of course! Please, do come in! My master will see you in but a klik. Please do make yourselves at home."

The five of them went inside and were shown to an overly ornate and overdone sitting room. Ultra looked around with disgust at the vulgar room, "Is this supposed to look this bad?"

Grapple laughed, "No, it's supposed to rub a bot's olfactory sensor in how rich the owner is. I've had to design for mech's like this, and they always try to show off how wealthy they are in crude ways."

As the door opened, Ultra had to bite his glossa from laughing as the mech who could only be Sentinel, the magistrate walked in. Dear Primus! What had happened to the mech's chin?!

Feeling a bit mischievous, Ultra stood up and walked to Sentinel, "Please sit, Magistrate. You should have had your servant tell us you were indisposed. Was your injury sustained in the attack you wrote to the Magnus about?"

Sentinel had sat down with a pleased smirk over being fussed over but looked confused at the mention of an injury. "My... injury?"

Ultra gestured at yes, "Ah, you try to downplay it? Do not worry; we have a healer in our group whom I am sure can help get the swelling on your chin to go down. You will be fine in a sol or two. I shall send him over as soon as we are finished here."

Sentinel turned red and an angry look spread briefly on his face. He forced himself to keep his temper and Ultra could see it was quite a fight. "I thank you for your concern but that will not be needed. I am fine. I believe you said you were here about the attack?"

Ironhide sat forward, "Yes, we have been sent to investigate what occurred here. Could you tell us of any reason why you may have been attacked? Had anything unexpected happened? Did you bring anything new into your stables?" 

Sentinel looked nervous when Ironhide asked about the stables, "No, nothing new really. Several tame slepnier as well as four ah steeds to pull my carriage."

Jazz pounced on the hesitation, "What kinda steeds?"

Sentinel blustered and stalled but finally answered, "They were four centaur mechs I had bought in the Hot cycle, so not really new at all." 

Master Yoketron leaned forward at that, "You had centaurs in your stable? Were there centaurs hitched to your carriage as well?"

Sentinel looked angry again now, "So what if they were?! They were my centaurs and I could do what I wanted with them!"

Master Yoketron inclined his helm to Sentinel, "Thank you for your time. May we see the site of the attack, please? Grapple has been sent to inspect the range of the damage."

"Downton will show you, I must return to some important documents."

\------------------

When they returned to the inn they had taken rooms in, the rest of the group was waiting for them with anticipation. All except for Perceptor and his bonded Rodimus had journeyed here with Ultra and he now suspected he was going to learn far more about the forest that he had set out intending to.

Wheeljack looked excited to hear what they had found at the magistrate's manor. "Well? What did you find? Did you figure out who or what attacked? Any clues as to why?"

Ultra laughed as did Master Yoketron and Jazz. "Oh we know all of it, for the most part. Just the exact whom."

Ultra sat and gestured for Master Yoketron to tell the tale. "The esteemed Magistrate in his wisdom apparently thought it would be a fine thing to have his carriage pulled by something more magnificent than mere tame slepneir. No, he wanted more. He went and bought four centaur mechs! Then  
he kept them in the stables as though they were mere steeds!"

Ratchet spoke up then, "I take it they aren't?"

Master Yoketron shook his helm, "No, indeed. Centaurs are as sentient as you and I. From the damage that we saw, that had not been fixed anyway, the centaurs he had bought were rescued by others of their kind."

Ratchet looked at Ultra and Master Yoketron. "He kept sentient beings like mechanimals and then got mad when they were rescued?"

Ultra laughed again, "Oh yes. I think we need a change in Magistrate here quite badly. I shall have to think of whom to grant it to."

At that all the mechs there gave Ultra a wary look and almost as one said, "Not me!"

\---------------

The cold cycle had come down in a hurry and thick snows covered the pass over the mountains back to Iacon. Ultra had not been pleased to be stuck in this small village for so long but he had no choice. They were trapped here until the snow melted, which several helpful older mechs pointed out wouldn't be until the middle of the thawing cycle. Joy.

His friends had all found ways to spend the time: Master Yoketron and his students Jazz and Sky Garry were usually on the roof mediating in the falling snow; Ratchet had begun to go around the village and making treks with Ironhide to the smaller villages and tending to the sick and injured. Wheeljack had begun to make lists as he talked to all the older mechs about what kind of beings lived in the forest. He had a list of beings known to exist and one for beings rumored to exist. Both of which were surprisingly long already.

Grapple had begun to survey the local architecture and was amazed at how strong all the buildings were considering they were all almost entirely made of wood. However, he had gone with Ratchet to one of the smaller villages and met an aspiring architect named Hoist and from what Ultra had seen, the younger mech had been accepting of Grapple's gentle flirtations.

Ironhide stayed with Ultra unless he was escorting Ratchet to the other villages. Otherwise the two would discuss past wars, play strategy games or read datapads by the fire.

It was very relaxing if a bit limited.

\---------------------

Orion gazed out on the falling snow and sighed. The cold cycle was always so dreary. Papa Reflector would go into his tree to hibernate, and Papa Kup would have to trudge out in the dark cold forest all alone or go into the village for supplies for the two of them. Even Orion's fluffsheep had to stay in their tiny barn and eat the hay that the sprites had gathered for them.

His crystals grew so much slower, as well and did not need as much tending so he little to do. He had ended up sitting in his chair by the fire and playing his harp or weaving on his loom. He also tried his servo at carving. He wanted to have a few presents ready in the thawing cycle to give to Bluestreak.

After the dramatic rescue of Bluestreak and his brothers, it had only been another decacycle or two before they held the twins and Bluestreak's bonding ceremony. Bluestreak had looked beautiful and the twins had polished themselves to a high shine and looked handsome. Bluestreak's brothers were still not pleased that their foal brother was bonding so young, but they accepted that he loved the twins and they would kill anything that hurt Blue.

It would seem that they had celebrated their bonding a bit too hard, because only three decacycles after that, Bluestreak had come to spread the wonderful news: He was carrying! In the thawing cycle he was going to have a foal. The twins were beyond proud about their coming foal, but Bluestreak's brothers looked less than thrilled.

So Orion had begun to carve small toys as well as weaving very soft meshes. He was working on estimating sizes so he could make some warm clothes as well since the thawing cycle could get chilly at times. He would love to see the little centaur foal when it was born; he just hoped it took after its carrier and not its sires.

He shifted his back against the soft padding he had added to his chair, glad he could rest his back again now that his blossom had faded. As the cooling cycle had turned into the cold cycle, one by one his petals had fallen off. Papa Kup had kept them, and they were drying hung over head so that they would stay nice forever. He suspected they would end up tucked into his sproutling pot in the cupboard.

He also had a begun to make plans to go to the village with his Papa in the thaw cycle to see if he liked any of the mechs in the village. He wanted to find someone, but it was hard to do so when you were a dryad.

\--------------------

The thawing cycle had finally begun to end, and the snow had begun to melt. Orion shifted carefully as he peeked out of his tree. His tree had begun to blossom and the sweet scent filled the gardens. His own blossom had opened the sol before and seemed to be even lusher and more beautiful than before.

Papa Kup had begun to go out and harvest the trees that had fallen in the cold cycle but Papa Reflector had not emerged from his own tree yet. Orion hoped his Papa would come out soon, he missed him so much. His garden had woken up though, his crystals had begun to grow larger and his crystal blossoms had opened filling his garden with beautiful colors.

His fluffsheep herd had been ecstatic to be finally free of the barn and was frolicking everywhere as they nibbled on the new growth of mechano-grasses that had sprouted up. He had to laugh at their antics, especially Oak. Several of the sprites and faeries had decided to help protect him further by polishing the crystal wall that made up the maze to a mirror hue to confuse anyone who should not have been there. Poor Oak had gone into the maze to graze on the mechano-grass that grew along the path and had begun to charge his own reflection over and over again until his horns had gotten stuck in the crystal.

Orion had to laugh remembering it, it had taken four sprites to get him lose and Oak had seemed so embarrassed by it. Still the sprites and faeries had been bustling getting everything cleaned up from the ravages of the cold cycle.

He had even had his first visitors for the cycle! Bluestreak, carefully escorted by his hovering mates had come to see him. Orion had been amazed by how large Blue had gotten while carrying his foal.  Sunstreaker and Sideswipe had fussed over Blue the entire time he had been visiting, bringing him sweet crystals or drinks of fresh solvents. Orion wondered what it would be like to have a bot fuss over him like that. Blue had seemed to really like the toys he had carved as well as the warm meshes and wraps for the foal when it emerged. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker had been quite pleased as well.

Today at least he was going to relax in the gazebo that was in his favorite garden. He loved it dearly since his Papa Kup had made it just for him. He had a view of his small pond and its floating crystals that was just lovely. Orion stepped out of his tree and onto the freshly swept path and headed into the cabin. He admired the smaller wall that hid the cabin from view that he had planted after the satyr attack last thawing cycle and was pleased with how large it had grown in a single stellar. Orion came back out of the cabin carrying his harp and walked through his garden until he reached the gazebo and settled down of the wide seat that lined the gazebo. This was going to be a wonderful sol.

\-----------------

Jazz was excited. The snows had finally begun to melt and he would have an opportunity to explore the forest on his own at last! He had spent all cold cycle listening to Wheeljack talk about all the wondrous beings that were reputed to live in the mysterious woods. Well, now was his chance!

Jazz slipped from the village, glad that Ultra had gone with Ratchet and Ironhide to one of the smallest nearby villages. With them gone for a few sols, he would be back before he was missed at all!

After a few breems, Jazz began to wonder if he had been too hasty. The forest was truly huge and the way back was becoming harder for him to keep track of. His fears were completely derailed though when he saw a very handsome mech sitting on a riverbank. The mech waved and smiled at Jazz, so Jazz began to get closer to the charming mech.

He had not gone far when the sound of something drawing near echoed through the woods and Jazz was snatched off of the ground and away from the pretty mech. Who was no longer as pretty as he had seemed! Jazz gasped at the sight of razor sharp fangs that the mech flashed at him in rage at his escape.

Jazz turned to give his rescuer his deepest thanks but his glossa froze at the sight before him. 

Jazz began to compose a spark felt hymn of thanksgiving to Primus for the most beautiful mech he had ever seen was standing before him. He had black and white plating, with a ruby crimson chevron, with spreading wings of matching black and white that he wanted to touch so very much. In fact the beautiful face and wings distracted him from noticing his lower half for a breem or two. Black and white, the same as his mech portion was spread of the barrel frame of a slepneir, with only four legs instead of eight. The tossing tail that was attached was adorable though.

Jazz gazed at the gorgeous face frowning down at him for a breem before realizing he must look like a glitch, gawping at the mech so rudely. He smiled sheepishly at the mech before speaking, "Sorry about that, mech! Thank yah fer helpin' meh! And what was that mech?"

The mech shifted on his...hooves? When he spoke, Jazz felt his spark shiver at the smooth baritone. "You should get out of our forest if you are so ignorant of the dangers here. These are no places for outsiders."

Primus, even being scolded was glorious when said in that voice.

"Please! What's yer name mech?!"

The handsome mech shifted away from Jazz and gave him a sharply assessing look. "Why do you wish to know?"

Jazz gave his brightest smile to the mech, "Ah want to know who to thank Primus fer putting in mah path. Allow meh to introduce mahself. Ah'm Jazz!"

The mech...centaur, he had to be, looked Jazz over warily before hesitantly responding, "I am Prowl."

The sound of something moving towards them put Prowl on edge and before Jazz could say anything, Prowl galloped away into the forest.

Jazz looked over and saw Master Yoketron and Sky Garry walk towards him. Master Yoketron looked at Jazz and then cast his optics towards the ground before he looked back at Jazz, "I see you have encountered one of the beings who live in the forest, Jazz."

Jazz gave his Master a helpless look, "Master, Ah think Ah found the mech Ah'm goin' to bond to!"

\------------------

Ultra wondered if he had gotten lost.

He had been told that if he truly wanted to learn more about the great forest, then the only mech to go to was a woodcutter named Kup. Kup apparently was nearly a hermit, and lived in the great forest itself with his family whom few mechs had seen. Kup apparently only came into the village to sell his wood and pick up supplies. He had a very shy bonded who had come to town no more than five times and a charming sparkling that no one had seen in stellars.  Many in the village had muttered about Kup being under a spell or cursed and even Grapple's newly bethrothed had said the Kup was an odd mech.

Ultra had been given instructions on how to find Kup's home but the path he had been told to follow had ended back a distance. He walked forward and saw no sign of any mech's home. Nothing but trees.

However, Ultra pressed on, certain he could find his way back. He had not gone much further when he heard a strange sound. It sounded like music, like someone playing a harp somewhere. Looking about he saw nothing amiss, though a wonderful sweet scent filled the air the closer he got to the music.

He found himself on the edge of a clearing with a massive wall of crystal before him. He could see no way through but the music seemed to come from the other side. He followed the wall, keeping a servo on the crystal as he moved along. He soon saw a very odd looking tree, one that a trunk split so it grew as three separate trunks and had long vines hanging from it. He had never seen such a tree and had just begun to move closer when a petrobunny dashed away from in front of him. As he watched the petrobunny ran straight for the tree...and was snatched up by one of the vines and pulled up into the branches which thrashed briefly before going still.

Ultra stared at the tree in horror before passing it with a wide berth. He could see a gap in the wall of crystal where a branch from the terrible tree passed through but continued along the wall to see if there was a safe entrance.  He continued past the awful tree until he came to a gap in the wall.

Ultra walked into the gap and saw several paths to choose from. He looked at what he could see of each and realized that the crystal had been grown so as to form a maze. Fortunately, Ultra knew a few tricks for solving mazes. Mazes had come into fashion with the nobility a vorn ago and now almost every garden had one. As a youngling he had often gone into the mazes to avoid the fawning nobles and politicians.

Going along the left passage and keeping his servo on the left wall, Ultra began to trace the maze. He followed the wall through several turns and corridors. To his surprise he had to step over miniature fluffsheep at random intervals as well, leaving him a bit puzzled as to what they were doing in a maze.

At last the maze opened up onto a sight that made Ultra's venting hitch. Truly this must be what the Well of Allsparks looked like!

Beautiful crystals grew everywhere and a gorgeous tree that was covered in beautiful blossoms filled the air with their sweet scent. The sound of the harp had grown louder and he saw well-kept paths winding through the garden. For garden it must be to be so lush and attractive.  

Following one of the paths that seemed to lead to the source of the music, Ultra froze at the sound of a sudden scream and the music stopped with a discordant clatter. Rushing forward, Ultra saw a massive mech with furry legs and curling horns cornering a much smaller mech who shrank away from him in fear.

Ultra drew his hammer from his subspace and charged at the mech! As he drew near, the large mech turned and snarled at Ultra, swiping at him with his large servos and trying to kick him away with his hoofed peds. The smaller mech seized his chance and fled into the larger garden area. Seeing the smaller mech flee, the larger mech tried to follow but Ultra cut him off.

The large mech bellowed in rage and charged towards Ultra before leaping over him and rushing to the main garden area. Following hard behind, Ultra saw the large mech growl and shake the lovely tree that blossomed in the middle of the garden, scattering petals over the ground.

Ultra ran at the mech, hammer crackling with charge as he swung at the mech, forcing him away from the tree. The larger mech backed away and continued back until it's back hit the wall surrounding the garden. Ultra tried to drive the mech into the maze where it would hopefully stumble out but the larger mech dove in the opposite direction.

That proved to be a mistake.

The large mech dove away from the enterance to the maze- right against the branch of the tree that came through the gap in the wall. Several vines snaked through the gap and coiled around the mech, dragging him through the gap and into the tree.

Ultra stared in horror at where the mech had been for a long breem.

Ultra tore himself away from where the mech had been...snatched and began to search for the lovely mech that had been menaced by the terrible brute. "Hello? Are you alright? He is gone now! You can come out!"

As Ultra looked around the garden, he was suddenly surprised to see the lovely mech from before standing beside the blossoming tree. The little mech was even lovelier than he had seen before, with gorgeous legs and a perky aft below a tiny waist and a broad chest. His faceplates were even lovelier, with pouty lip plates that he wanted to nibble and delicate helmfins.

Ultra then noticed that the mech was completely in protoform.

Sweet Primus, thank you!

Ultra realized he had been rudely staring and looked away briefly before turning back to the lovely mech, "Are you alright? Did that mech hurt you?"

The mech shifted a bit at first then smiled faintly. He spoke in a voice that was as lovely as he was. "I am alright. He did not hurt me too badly. Just a bit of bruising and a few lost blossoms. I was very frightened when he grabbed my tree though."

Ultra was confused why the mech would be so worried about the tree, as lovely as it was, when he had just been attacked by a strange mech. "Are you sure you are okay?"

The little mech smiled more brightly this time. "I am sure. He didn't touch me, or even break any branches."

Ultra smiled at the little mech who looked so adorable, "May I ask your name pretty mech?"

The mech blushed beautifully, "I am Orion. May I ask your name as well?"

Ultra bowed theatrically to the lovely mech, "I am Ultra."

Orion smiled at him and offered him his tiny servo, "Thank you for saving me from the satyr, Ultra. Would you like to see my garden as a thank you? I'm afraid you can't stay long, Papa Kup will be back soon."

Ultra was surprised to learn that Kup was apparently this gorgeous mech's papa, when the clouds in the sky shifted and Ultra gasped as he looked at Orion. Orion was not just lovely. He was crystalline!

Ultra was about to ask Orion to show him around when Orion gasped and looked at the exit of the maze before, to Ultra's shock and amazement, leapt /into// the lovely tree.

A beat up looking truckbot walked in, "Orion! Sparklin' Ah got yer-"

At the sight of Ultra, the mech who had to be Kup dropped his supplies and pointed an old laser musket at Ultra.

"Who are yah?! What are yah doing in here!?"

Then Kup seemed to notice the fallen blossoms, the damaged crystals and the broken harp laying on the ground. His optic's narrowed and he glared at Ultra. "Get yer aft away from that tree! If yah hurt mah sparklin', yer offline!"

Ultra carefully shifted away from the tree that Orion had just somehow gone into and kept an optic on the mech pointing a lasermusket at him.

"Papa! Stop that! Put your lasermusket away! Ultra saved me! He drove the saytr away!"

Ultra jerked his helm back towards the tree and saw Orion emerge back out of the tree again. Was he going mad?

 Orion moved towards Ultra and Kup growled, "Git away from from him sparklin'!"

 Orion sighed, "Papa, he /saved// me! He introduced himself afterwards and made sure I was alright."

 Kup slowly lowered his lasermusket although Ultra noticed that he didn't put it away either. "Yah sure sparklin'?"

 Orion nodded, "I promised to show him around my garden papa. You go put your supplies up, and then you can come back out to make sure I am still okay."

 Kup glared at Ultra for a full breem before subspacing his lasermusket. "If yah hurt mah sparklin', ah will make sure yer frame is nevah found."

 With that warning, Kup went into an opening that Ultra had not seen and disappeared from sight.

 A soft touch to his servo made him turn and found him staring into beautiful deep blue optics that Ultra thought were the loveliest he had ever seen. "Ultra? Ultra? Do you still want to see my garden? I am sorry Papa Kup was so rude, he is very protective of me and my papa's trees."

 Ultra froze in shock as Orion pointed to the horrific tree that had eaten the larger mech, the 'saytr' as Orion had called it. That was his papa? Primus!

 He managed to compose himself at last, "I would be delighted to see your lovely garden, Orion."

 ----------------------

Ironhide knew something was up. Ultra had returned from his trek into the forest to find some woodcutter but looked as though he had found the light of his spark instead. Jazz, the silly sot, was no better and kept sighing and gazing into the forest.

He wasn't sure what to make of this group anymore. More and more he wondered if this wasn't some way for Primus to pair up mechs. Grapple had found Hoist and was courting him quite thoroughly. Ratchet thought he was being sneaky with Wheeljack but the way the mech's helmfins turned pink whenever they looked at each other was a giveaway. Master Yoketron was bonded as was Sky Garry but now only Ultra, Jazz and himself were left of the unattached and by Primus if Ultra and Jazz weren't all aft over helm for a couple of unknown mechs.

He was not going to let the Magnus endanger himself like that! It was his job to protect him after all from all threats. The next time Ultra left for a trip into the forest, he was going to follow him and make sure Ultra was safe.

In the meantime, he would have Master Yoketron talk to Jazz; mech was acting oddly and asking the oddest question. He might bear watching as well.

\------------------

Jazz felt like he had awoken in the Well itself. It had only been a few sols but they had been sols spent with Prowl. Prowl was slowly growing less wary of Jazz and was actually having conversations with him.

Jazz had learned that Prowl was smart. Very smart. Insanely smart.

Jazz wanted Master Yoketron to come and meet Prowl, certain that the two would get along great. Prowl however was proving to be very skittish about meeting new people, especially mechs.

Jazz was also worried since Prowl had diverted all the questions Jazz had asked him about if he knew anything about the attack on the Magistrates property. He hoped Prowl hadn't been the one attacking or one of the ones. It had only been a short time but he was certain he was falling fast for the handsome centaur mech.

Jazz headed out into the forest to meet Prowl for the sol, a cube of energon tucked into his subspace so he could stay out longer. He was eager to see his..er...to see Prowl.

However, when he had gotten a little way into the forest he saw Prowl arguing with another centaur. Jazz felt his spark freeze as he suddenly feared that Prowl was taken. The second centaur saw Jazz and charged at him, rearing when he drew closer and punching the air before him with his front hooves.

"Barricade stop that! Leave him alone. He has done nothing threatening."

Jazz leaned back from where he had fallen when the other centaur, Barricade, had reared. "Chill mech! Ah ain't gonna hurt yah or Prowl."

Prowl moved to where Jazz lay supine on the forest floor, "He means no harm brother. I am in no danger."

Barricade crowded against Prowl, moving him further from Jazz. "He merely wants to trick you! He will try to capture you! I will not let you be forced back to such degradation!"

Jazz felt his processor spin. What did this Barricade, who was apparently Prowl's brother, mean by 'forced back'? What 'degradation'?

Jazz looked at Prowl with a sinking feeling as he looked at the mech, "Prowl, what is he talking about? What 'degradation'?"

Barricade stomped perilously close to Jazz's frame, "See! He already pretends and lies! All alt-moders are like that! Liars and thieves!"

Prowl huffed and gave his brother a look. "Or he is confused and knows nothing of what occurred. Even you can agree he has the scent of an outlander. He has no scent of the forest at all."

Barricade gave Jazz an accusing look, "Or he is a better liar and has hidden his scent."

Prowl shifted once again and Jazz found himself with Prowl between him and Barricade. Barricade gave Prowl a look of irritation. "You will regret this brother! I only hope you realize your trust is misplaced before I must come and rescue you this time."

Prowl snorted at his brother's words as Barricade charged from the clearing in anger. Once Barricade had left them alone, Prowl turned to Jazz and was about to speak when he seemed to notice Jazz staring at something.

Jazz stared in horror at what he was now quite certain Prowl had hidden from him before. There on the glossy black flank that Jazz had stared at quite a bit in the last few sols were what could only be whip marks scored into the plating and barely healed.

Jazz reached out at them in horrified disbelief. Devastating images followed that filled Jazz with rage against the mech he knew must be to blame and Jazz was filled with a desire to go and rip the arrogant aft's helm from his frame for this.

Prowl shied away from Jazz's touch, and that drew Jazz back to the present. He looked and saw Prowl's skittish look as he minced away from Jazz with startled optics.

Jazz moved his servos back and gave Prowl a sorrowful look, "Oh Prowler. Who did this ta yah? Does it hurt yah? Ah have a medic friend who could help!"

Prowl seemed to settle a bit now that Jazz wasn't trying to touch him. He looked away from Jazz, "I am in no great pain. I do not need to bother a healer with such minor wounds."

Jazz slowly got to his peds, making certain to keep his movements slow. He didn't want to spook Prowl. "Prowler, how did yah get those marks? Who did this ta yah? Tell meh so ah can go kick their afts."

Prowl blushed and looked away. "I was foolish and careless. It does not matter though, it is the past."

Jazz sighed, he was going to be difficult was he? Well, Jazz could wait.

\--------------------

Ultra sipped his energon and gazed out of the gazebo into the surrounding gardens. He had never felt more at peace. He turned to the source of his contentment and watched Orion play his new harp serenely at his side. He studied his companion once again and marveled over how beautiful he truly was. Orion was beyond gorgeous especially his blossom which had stunned him the first time he saw it properly.  Ultra wanted to touch it so badly, it was just so beautiful and it smelled divine.

The only thing that kept him from being completely relaxed was glaring at him from the wall that screened his cabin away and from the branch that peeked through the gap in the outer wall. Orion's papas were still not too impressed with him. He had not told them he was the Magnus, of course, but they simply did not trust him. Honestly he doubted they would trust anyone with their beloved sparkling. He felt that Kup might be getting a bit less suspicious, but Reflector, the odd mech in three frames, still lashed out with his vines if Ultra got too close.

Orion however had been so very welcoming, as well as very kind. Truly Orion was as beautiful in spark as he was in frame. He was so kind and gentle, tending to his crystals and his miniature fluffsheep. Orion had even befriended many sprites and faeries who helped in the care of the gardens.

Ultra knew he was besotted with Orion, and was beginning to suspect that he had lost his spark to the gentle mech. Orion was everything he had ever wanted in a mate: kind, sweet, compassionate and beautiful. Even if Orion had not been as beautiful as he was he would have fallen for the wonderful mech. He was just so perfect; it was as though Primus had made this mech for him.

Ultra picked up one of Orion's servos and pressed a kiss to it, "Excuse me for a klik, Orion. I need to speak to your papas."

Orion blushed at the kiss and softly spoke, "Of course, Ultra."

Ultra headed over to where Kup was standing and glaring at him. "Excuse me, Kup may I speak with you?"

Kup scowled at him before jerking his helm towards the cabin, "Ah suppose."

Ultra followed Kup into the cabin and was surprised by how well made it was. The interior was filled with carvings, some added and some carved into the wood of the cabin itself.  The support pillars in particular caught his optics. One was carved with images of the mech's bonded and their tree. The remainin three showed Orion at various stages, with one carved with images of him as a small sparkling as well as an image of an odd fruit that Ultra had never seen before. The second pillar showed images as Orion as a youngling with his fluffsheep as well several sprites and faeries. The final pillar had been carved into a beautifully detailed carving of Orion hugging his tree, his blossom carefully carved in with care and exactly as it looked in life.

Kup cleared his intake impatiently and gave Ultra a dirty look. "Well? What do yah want?"

Ultra turned to Kup, "Sir, I would like your permission to court Orion."

Kup scowled at Ultra, "Why should ah let yah near my sparklin'?"

Ultra was at a loss, he wanted to woo Orion as himself not as the Magnus. Although judging by Kup perhaps that would have less bearing than he thought. Ultra decided to go with the truth, "I wish to court Orion because he is kind, compassionate and gentle. He is everything I have ever hoped for in a mech. The truth is, I love him Kup. I love Orion with my entire spark. I wish to court him in the hope he would agree to a bonding."

Kup gaped at Ultra in shock before blustering out, "Ah'll think about it. Talk it over with 'flector."

Ultra nodded and headed back out into the garden to sit back down in the gazebo where Orion waited for him.

"Did it go alright with my Papa Kup, Ultra?"

Ultra smiled softly, "I hope so, Orion."

\--------------------

Prowl shifted on his hooves, Jazz had not yet arrived. He knew Barricade did not approve of him seeing the altmoder but Prowl.....was fond of Jazz at this point.

He was not as foolish as Barricade seemed to think he was. He knew not to completely trust Jazz, even if he really would have liked to. However, it was more than his own safety at stake and he would protect his herd.

He would not risk the others like that.

He would not force them to go through the torment and torture that he and his brothers had had to endure. The twins had confided that Bluestreak still had dark nightfluxs and would wake up screaming and trying to flee. His poor little brother. He should have protected him better. Kept him safer. Something.

The sound of something cracking in the background had him alert and on guard. He relaxed marginally when he scented that it was Jazz coming for his sol-ly visit. Prowl shifted so he would see Jazz coming and was rewarded by the black and white appearing soon after.

Jazz smiled when he saw him and held up a small pot that he had seen the mechs use in the village while he was trapped in the cell. Jazz grinned and walked towards Prowl with the pot but he backed away at once.

"What is that Jazz?" Prowl demanded.

Jazz backed up and away from Prowl and his smile faded slightly. "It's fer yah, mech. Ah got mah medic, ah healer, tah make up a healing salve fer the marks yah got. Ah asked fer enough that if any of the other's like yah had marks too, they could have some."

Prowl slowly walked nearer to Jazz, he was still wary of altmoders and their devices. Jazz opened the pot slowly and let Prowl take a few sniffs of the contents. Jazz carefully took a servo full and moved toward Prowl's flank. Prowl watched him warily but let him proceed.

Jazz carefully rubbed his servoful of salve into Prowl's plating and added more as he seemed to need it. Prowl however gave Jazz a narrowed optic look when Jazz continued to rub and stroke his flank after he had stopped adding more salve. Jazz seemed to feel the weight of his glare and looked up with a sheepish look before moving away from Prowl's flank and coming back up to his front.

"There yah go! The marks should heal up in a sol or two and yah can take the salve back with yah fer anyone else who needs it."

Prowl gave the small pot a close look before nodding, "Very well. Thank you Jazz."

Jazz beamed, "Notta problem, Prowl. If yah really want ta thank meh though, yah could tell meh how yah got those marks in tha first place."

Prowl snorted and moved back at that. "Why do you insist on knowing? I told you I was careless, that is all you need to know."

Jazz frowned now, "No, Prowler, it's not. That is all yah /want// meh ta know. Ah /need// tah know whose aft ta kick fer hurtin' yah."

Prowl felt his faceplates heat in a blush as he looked away from Jazz for a klik. Jazz reached up and touched Prowl gently. "Prowler, ah care about yah, ah care /fer// yah. Please, how can ah keep yah safe if ah don't know?"

Prowl huffed and shifted on his hooves as he thought. He could do this. Prowl looked at Jazz finally, "Very well. I will tell you."

Jazz smiled and plopped himself down on a fallen tree nearby. "Ah'm all audios mah mech."

Prowl glanced away at being called Jazz's but he liked it, a little. "My brothers and I went to drink from a stream and were ambushed by a group of altmoders. They knocked us out and when we awoke we had apparently been sold to another altmoder. We were kept separated in cells and were forced to go through pointless exercises for joors. If we did not go fast enough, jump high enough, go far enough or refused anything, they would hurt us as you saw on my flank."

Jazz's face took on a look of rage.  "Why that no good, disgusting....!" Jazz forcibly controlled his anger. "Oh Prowl, I am so sorry that any bot would do such a horrible thing to you. If I find out who was responsible I will make them pay."

Prowl blushed at the fact that Jazz was so enraged for him. Perhaps Jazz truly was different from other altmoders.

Jazz looked up at Prowl and gave him a soft smile, "Tell meh more about yah. What yah like and don' like."

Prowl shifted in embarrasment, "I...I suppose that I could."

Jazz smiled more broadly, "Let's sit under that tree and talk then, Prowl."

Jazz went and under a nearby tree and Prowl cautiously followed, dropping down and kneeling before settling on the ground. A talk couldn't hurt.

\-------------------

Ultra headed up the path to where Orion lived with his papas. He had a basket filled with sweets of all kinds to give to Orion. He knew that Orion's creators were still less than pleased that their sparkling had a suitor but at least he had not been told 'no' precisely. He hoped that they would come around and accept him without him having to reveal his true identity.

He walked along the wall of crystal to the maze entrance and walked the now familiar path that led within. He looked around but did not see Orion so he walked along the garden path to see where he was. He was looking so intently for Orion he failed to see the danger he was in until it was too late.

Ultra yelled as he was yanked up into the air, the basket of sweets falling from his servo to land on the ground. Ultra soon found himself hoisted up into the branches of the tri-trunked tree that housed Orion's dryad creator. He blinked and found himself confronted with all three frames giving him dark and hungry looks that he did not like at all. "So you are the one who is trying to steal our sapling! We won't let you steal him! He is our precious sapling and you will not hurt him!"

With that he saw the three frames grab one of his limbs and bite into his lines. He thrashed trying to get away as the three mechs began to drain him.

A sudden shout from below drove the three mechs from him and Ultra found himself dropped onto the ground next to an angry looking Orion. "Papa! What did you think you were doing! Ultra is my friend! You said you wouldn't try to eat my friends! You promised papa!"

The three frames slipped onto the ground, "Sparkling, we just want to keep you safe! He will hurt you, we know he will! It is like altmoders to do such things!"

Orion gave his creator a frown, "Papa Kup is an altmoder and he didn't hurt you! Ultra won't hurt me either! You be nice, Papa! He is my friend!"

Reflector cast a dark glare at Ultra but faded back into his tree with a muted grumbling. Ultra sat up and looked up at Orion with a grin. "I see it was your turn to save me this time, Orion."

Orion blushed and giggled, "I didn't do much! Papa wouldn't have really hurt you, I'm sure!"

Ultra had his doubts but chose to say anything that would upset Orion.

Ultra got to his peds and walked to where he had dropped the basket of goodies. Fortunately he had let go before he had been lifted too high and the basket seemed to have suffered no lasting harm. He picked up the basket and walked back to Orion. "I brought a few things from the village for you to try. I hope you like them."

Orion beamed at the idea of a gift and clapped his servos in delight. "I'm sure I will! Oh, what did you bring? Is it sweets? I love sweets!"

Ultra laughed and led Orion to the gazebo that he had come to think of as 'theirs'. They sat down and Ultra servo fed Orion bites of different treats and sweet goodies. Ultra had to fight down his engine revs as Orion licked his full lips and moaned after each tidbit was consumed. Primus had spent extra time shaping that mouth he swore.

After all the goodies had been eaten, Ultra sat with Orion and listened as Orion played his harp while talking about his sol. Orion spoke of his gardens, of his friends the sprites and faeries as well of how his tree was doing.

His tree.

That was the one matter that might hamper his plans to bond to Orion. He knew that it could be done, after all Kup had bonded to Reflector. Ultra, however, was the Magnus, not a woodcutter who could move to live next to his bonded's tree no matter how lovely the gardens were.

He would have to ask Wheeljack what he had learned in his collection of Forest Lore. He had to find a way; Orion had spoiled him for any other mech.

\-----------------------------

Ironhide slogged his way through the forest, determined to find out where Ultra Magnus as well as Jazz kept disappearing off to. Slag who ever thought that training the Magnus in Ninjabot techinques was a good idea! Made it difficult as frag to track the mech!

He looked about and saw nothing but trees, trees and surprisingly enough more trees! What was so fascinating that two mechs would run off for this place every sol?

A sudden sense of being watched made him whip around with his gun out. He found himself staring down the shaft of an explosive arrow notched to a compound bow held by the loveliest femme he had ever seen. "Why don't yah put that bow away befer yah hurt yerself, sweetspark?"

The femme scowled before beginning to lower the bow. He knew he still had his old charm.

He never saw her fist slam into his faceplates until he fell into stasis.

\---

He woke up in stasis cuffs in an empty room. He looked about as much as he could with his helm being unable to move. At last he heard a door behind him open and the femme from before walked in with another femme and a mech. "This is the one that Lord Mirage wishes to see. Take him to the throne room. If necessary 'remind' him of his manners."

Ironhide felt himself being picked up and carried out of the room. He saw the side of one hallway then another before being dropped none to gently onto the floor. He felt his stasis cuffs being deactivated and sat up rubbing his wrist joints as he looked around. He found himself on a floor of polished stone before a massive throne that a blue and white mech sat upon.

"I am the Elven King Mirage. Why have you trespassed into our domain?"

Ironhide gave a less than impressed look to the so called Elven king, "Ah ain't heard of no Elven king. Ah serve the Magnus, and Ah am here ta see where he keeps runnin' off ta."

The femme from before slapped the back of his helm hard, "You will be respectful to Lord Mirage, rogue!"

Ironhide felt his spark pulse hard as the sultry drawl the femme had. She was a fine piece of armor that was for sure.

"That will be enough, Lady Chromia. I believe our guest speaks the truth. You shall lead him outside our borders, as you were the one who caught him. As for you, altmoder, your 'Magnus' visits the forest because he is courting, the young ninjabot visits for a similar reason though he does not realize it yet." 

Before Ironhide could ask what this Mirage guy meant by courting he was grabbed and thrown over the femme's shoulder. He began to roll off when the mech who had dragged him into the room slapped the stasis cuffs back on him.

Ironhide fumed as he was carted out of the room and back to the empty room he was in at first. Then the mech and femme saluted the one carrying him, Chromia if he had heard right, and the femme put a blindfold on him.

He felt the rush of air as the femme carried him on her shoulder like he weighed nothing at all. It was oddly emasculating. A femme shouldn't be able to do that. It was a further indignity when he was roughly dumped onto the ground hard and his cuffs and blindfold removed. He glared at the femme who was giving him a disgusted look like he was slag. "There, this is about where I got you. Do not come back into our forest again."

With that, not allowing Ironhide to reply, the femme swung up into the trees and was gone in a flash. Ironhide grumbled as he got off the ground and brushed the leaves from his armor. He would show that femme a thing or two the next time he saw her.

\------------------

Master Yoketron smiled as he watched Jazz run out of the inn they were staying at. He suspected that his young student had met a member of the great forest and enjoyed the encounter. Based on the scent of the mech when he returned, he thought it must be a centaur. Perhaps Jazz would be able to shed more light on the reasons for the attack on the magistrates home and stables, from the slepneir's mouth as it were.

However, Yoketron was less pleased when Ultra Magnus left as well. He knew what the smell he carried with him was although it had an odd overlay to it. Nothing good would come of the mech trying to woo a dryad. Dryads were bound to their trees and were unable to leave it ever for long. He wondered if Ultra truly realized how close the bond was between the dryad he rushed off to see and his tree. Probably not, since Ultra had not believed such beings were real when they had come here.

He would have to speak with Ultra when he returned. Master Yoketron rose from the table and headed out into the forest. Perhaps he would visit an old friend on such a fine sol. He had not walked in the forest for long when he heard the sound of metal on metal and angry voices yelling. Stealthily approaching he had to swallow his laughter as he watched an Elven warrior maiden sparring with Ironhide.

"Is that the best you can do Altmoder? I have seen sparklings of our kind who fight better than you!"

The incoherent roar of rage from Ironhide made it clear who had the upper servo in this battle, on both levels.

Continuing on his way he soon found himself on the end of a clearing near a small mountain with a cave. Yoketron approached the cave and sat down. He knew his friend would choose to come out or not on his own. He knew that his friend was very busy after all.

His patience was rewarded when at last he heard pedsteps coming out of the cave and his friend sat beside him. "It has been awhile Yokiko. I have not seen you in the forest for many Vorns. It is good to have you back."

Yoketron laughed, "It had been quite some time my friend, it is true. I earned my new name at the dojo, I am Yoketron now."

His friend laughed, "You will always be Yokiko to me, though."

Yoketron laughed and looked at his friend, "Your antlers have grown well, Hound. They are more lovely than before."

Hound laughed, "Thank you. Mirage seems to like them as well."

The two began to converse as they sat in the sunshine before Hound's cave home.

\-------------------------------

Ultra sat in the gazebo and waited for Orion to come back out of the forest. Orion had apparently gone to see if a very rare crystal had regrown so he could try to coax it to grow in his garden.

Ultra gazed out into the gardens admiring how harmoniously Orion had grown his crystals as well as the clear, smooth surface of the little pond beside the gazebo. As he watched the sprites and faeries tend to their tasks, he was amazed at how well ordered Orion kept everything. It was quite remarkable.

Ultra was so caught up in his thoughts that he missed Kup walking out to the gazebo until he was almost to him. "Good evening Kup."

Kup grunted and stared at Ultra hard. Finally after a breem of silent staring the older mech sighed. "Fine."

Ultra looked at Kup in confusion. "I don't under-"

Kup gave Ultra a look like he was a glitch, "Fine! Yah can court mah sparklin'. But he says no, yah get or 'Flector finishes what he started. Got it?"

Ultra nodded solemnly.

His first victory on his current campaign was complete.

\----------------------------- 

Prowl walked along the forest path the twins had told him of and smiled when he could see the wall of crystal that surrounded the dryad Orion's gardens. Prowl took great care to avoid the menacing tree that he was told belonged to Orion's dryad creator Reflector and made his way into the maze that led inward. Sunstreaker had sketched a rough map of the maze for him on a large piece of bark and Prowl cautiously made his way inside, his hooves lightly clanking against the stones that formed the paths of the garden.

A sprite that had been tending to the crystals looked up and smiled at him, "Hello there! You're Prowl right?  I saw you at your brother's bonding ceremony to the twins. Can I help you with something?"

Prowl stepped back slightly, surprised to be recognized by the garden sprite. "I..I was hoping to speak to Orion. I wanted to ask if I could gather some crystals from the garden."

"Of course you can, Prowl!"

Prowl turned around and saw a crystal mech with a large blossom peeking over his shoulder. Prowl smiled slighty, "Hello Orion. I hope I am not imposing by asking?"

Orion laughed, "No, not at all. What kind of crystals did you want?"

Prowl looked thoughtful, "Do you have any that non-crystal eaters can eat easily? That are sweet?"

Orion gasped and moved up to Prowl and tok his servos, "Are you courting someone Prowl?! Oh! How romantic!"

Prowl blushed and looked away in embarrassment. "N-no! Not like that! I want to give a gift to a friend of mine. Nothing more!"

Orion smiled knowingly, "Oh, a friend! Of course! Well, let's see what we can find for your friend."

Orion went over to a small basket that sat on the ground. "I already gathered some Sweetluck, and anyone can eat those. So let's walk together and we can fill the basket for your...friend."

Prowl followed behind Orion and looked over the lovely crystals amazed at the variety. There were so many crystals to choose from, he hardly knew where to begin.

A joor later, Prowl trotted out of the maze with two small baskets in his servos. He hoped Jazz liked them. Prowl blushed as he thought about his friend and how Orion had asked about him courting someone. Prowl looked at the baskets considering. Huh. Perhaps he was.

\------------------------------------------


	4. Courting

Orion sat within the gazebo after Prowl left and thought. If Prowl had found someone to court but didn't call it that, could he be courting Ultra in the same manner? He blushed at the idea of him courting some mech, especially Ultra. Ultra was so sweet and so kind, Orion loved it when he came to visit. Even if his papas were less than pleased. Papa Reflector had been so naughty trying to scare Ultra like that, although Orion had wondered if his papa had really just been trying to scare or had really been trying to eat. Perhaps he needed to go count the fluffsheep again. Maybe have the sprites and faeries do a headcount as well to be safe. It was hard to know what to do when Papa Reflector got like that.

Orion thought back to the baskets of goodies that Ultra brought and how nice Ultra always looked. Thinking of that forced him to take a good look at himself. He was covered in muck from the garden, crystal dust, as well as bits of fluff from brushing the fluffsheep. He blushed in embarrassment. He must look like a mess! 

Orion thought for a long breem. Suddenly he hopped up, and looked around anxiously. He saw no sign of his papas and he rushed into Papa Kup's cabin. He went into the small cupboard and drew out one of Papa Kup's old cloaks and put one on, being careful of his blossom petals. Orion headed back outside and double checked his charm was firmly placed on one of his tree's branches. Adjusting his matching charm where it was hidden, he headed out of the garden through the maze.

Once he was out of the maze, he headed off into the forest towards the one place he knew he would find help. He hurried along knowing that he needed to move quickly. Ultra was supposed to arrive that afternoon to see him again.

He had not gone too far into the part of the forest his papas had told him of, when he suddenly saw a femme with deep blue armor and a bow. His Papa Kup had told him what to do if this happened fortuitously. Orion bowed to the femme, "Greetings to you, Gatekeeper. I seek passage to the city. May I pass?"

The blue femme looked at him in surprise before smiling. "You must be Orion! I know only Kup wears dryad woven cloaks and he would let no one use his cloak but his sparkling. You may pass into the city. May I ask your business?"

Orion blushed, "I-I seek advice. I am courting and being courted by a wonderful mech. However I look so messy and want to find him a gift." 

The femme's smile softened and she patted his helm, "Go to the Street of Lanterns and seek out a mech named Tracks. He will help you. Tell him Captain Chromia of the border guards sent you."

Orion bowed again, "Thank you Captain Chromia. I will." 

Orion smiled and headed past the femme along the faint trace of a path that was the only marker. Orion gazed about in wonder as he entered the Elvish city and was amazed by all the bots that went about him. He saw that each street was properly marked and paved. This must be what a real city looked like he bet!

Orion wandered around until at last he saw a street that was marked as the Street of Lanterns and headed down it. He asked a femme who passed him by if she knew where to find a mech named Tracks. The femme had smiled at him and pointed him to a large shop half-way down the street. He thanked her politely and headed to the shop.

Orion walked into the shop and a small chime rang as the door shut behind him. A blue mech with a red face walked into the room from somewhere in the back and gasped at the sight of Orion. "Oh Primus! What happened to you?! Why are wearing such a dowdy cloak and covered in...ugh filth."

Orion blushed and looked down, "I-I-, Captain Chromia said that you might be able to help me? I, I want to look nice for the mech who is courting me and find him a gift." 

The mech sighed, "Captain Chromia is such a softy now that she is courting that altmoder mech. Well, go ahead! Take the cloak off and let me see what I have to work with. I don't have all sol!"

Orion blinked and then undid Papa Kup's old cloak and slipped it off. Tracks gasped and stepped back, grabbing onto the counter behind him. "You! You're a..! You!"

Orion looked at Tracks in concern, "Are you alright?" 

Tracks seemed to take a steadying in-vent. He gave Orion a disbelieving look before shaking his helm, "You are a crystal mech! And have a blossom of some sort on your back! You, what are you anyway?"

Orion looked at him in confusion, "I am a cyberfly bush dryad, or so my papas tell me." 

Tracks looked at him in surprise, "A dryad? Really? I didn't think you could travel so far from your trees. No matter! Come along, come along! You are the first dryad I have ever served!”

He began to pace around Orion looking him over assessingly, “Oh you are going to gorgeous when I am done with you! Before we get too far along, I hate to ask, but how will you be paying for this?"

Orion reached into his subspace and pulled out his small basket and handed it to Tracks, "Is this enough?" 

Tracks took the small basket skeptically but gasped when he looked inside of it. "Is, is this lacewing? Unbroken lacewing?"

Orion nodded, "I grow it in my garden. Is it enough?" 

Tracks nodded quickly, "Oh yes. Follow me; I will have you looking better than you ever have before!"

\-------------------------------

Ultra walked into the garden and looked around for Orion. He didn't see any sign of his- of Orion. "Orion? Orion? Where are you?"

Ultra was struck with the fact that there were no sprites tending the garden, or faeries flying about the air and no fluffsheep running about underped. He set his basket of goodies he had brought to share with Orion down in the gazebo. 

"Hello, Ultra!" 

Ultra turned at the lovely sound of Orion's voice and froze in shock. 

Orion stood before him, polished so he shone brilliantly in the sunlight, his armor appeared even more crystalline than before and lovely decorations on his helmfins made him look impossibly beautiful. 

"O-Orion! You look amazing! I would never have thought that is was possible for you to look even lovelier but you have proven me wrong."

Ultra gently took Orion's hand and led him to the pretty gazebo. "You look like one of Primus' messengers, Orion. I have never seen a mech who looked so radiant and beautiful. I swear you have stolen my spark away, Orion." 

Orion blushed and looked away, "Ultra! You, you,...!"

Ultra drew both of Orion's servos into his own, "Orion, will you allow me to court you? I wish to honor you with a proper courting."

Orion gasped and blushed before nodding eagerly. "I- I would like that!" Orion reached into his subspace and pulled out a small box made of clear crystal that held a single blossom from Orion's tree. "For you, Ultra. So you never forget me." 

Ultra took the crystal box with gentle servos and looked at it admiringly before setting it to the side. He took Orion's servos again, "I would never forget you, Orion! Never!"

Ultra reached up and caressed the side of Orion's faceplates before drawing Orion closer to him. Orion looked at Ultra with nervous expectation, as Ultra drew closer before pressing a soft kiss to Orion's lush lips.  

Ultra could hardly believe how sweet Orion tasted as he drew back from the kiss and saw Orion looking at him with dazed optics. Primus, he loved this mech. 

\-----------------------------------------

Jazz hurried along the path he was beginning to wear to the clearing he met Prowl in. Jazz knew he was being foolish not telling Prowl why they had come or how he felt about the handsome centaur mech. Prowl was handsome, intelligent, and kind. In addition, he was very protective as anyone could see looking at his brothers. Jazz had to admit to himself that he loved Prowl.

Jazz leapt into the clearing and smiled when he saw Prowl waiting for him with a large basket on the ground. Now what did that tricky mech have planned? Jazz walked over to Prowl and gave the basket a curious look. "Hey there, Prowl. Whatcha got in the basket, mech?" 

Prowl smiled at Jazz in return and his wings fluffed up briefly before settling back to their usual resting position. "Hello Jazz. I thought we could enjoy some treats while we talked this sol."

Jazz sat down next to the basket and waited while Prowl lowered himself down as well. "Ah like tha sound o' that, Prowl." 

Prowl opened the basket and revealed many sweet crystals and a few fruits that anybot could eat. Jazz whistled at the amount of snacks Prowl had brought. "Mech, yah brought enough fuel fer like ten mechs!"

Prowl looked away, "I apologize, I merely wanted to ensure there was enough-" 

Jazz interrupted, "Ah ain't complain' mech. Ah'm touched yah got so much fuel fer us." 

Prowl looked away again and blushed, his wings rustling nervously. "I... I am glad you like it."

Jazz moved closer to Prowl and decided it was time for at least one confession and it had better be the most important one. "Prowl," Jazz began, taking one of Prowl's servos in his, "Ah need tah tell yah somethin'. Ah care fer yah. Ah care fer yah a lot." 

Prowl gasped at Jazz words, but Jazz continued, "Prowl, will yah let meh court yah?" 

Prowl blushed until his faceplates were as red as his chevron. "I, yes. Yes, you may."

Jazz leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Prowl's lips and was pleased when Prowl kissed back. 

Life was good. 

\------------------------------------------------

Ironhide scowled as he stomped along the path in the forest that led to the clearing where he met that hard-aft femme. Every sol he had met her there and he would challenge her to a duel. Every sol they fought and every sol the result was the same: a tie. A draw. A stalemate.

How could that be possible?

He was Ironhide, commander of the Magnus' Armies, Captain of the Imperial Magnus Guard, and Ultra Magnus' personal body guard. 

How was a femme able to beat him? He had seen the femmes that filled the courts of the Magnus: flimsy, frilly, prissy femmes who barked orders and refused to soil their own dainty servos.

Chromia, that was the femme's name, was nothing like that. She was tough as good steel and as elegant as a new forged sword. 

She was a femme he could respect, although he wouldn't tell her that.

Sure enough as soon as he reached the clearing, Chromia was standing there waiting. "Took you long enough, old mech. Getting slow as well as rusty are you? Should I take it easy on you, Elder?"

Ironhide growled at the taunts, "You ready to surrender, femme? Are yah worried yer gonna chip yer paint?"

They glared at each other, then charged and began to spar. They easily met each other's blows and parried them. The fight lasted for many joors but no clear winner was seen. Finally they broke from each other and stood panting to cycle their intakes.

Then Chromia laughed, "See you next sol, old mech!" With that, Chromia leapt into the forest and was gone from sight. 

Ironhide grumbled and headed back to the village. He would beat that slaggin' femme one of these sols. 

\---

Chromia watched the mech trudge out of the clearing and allowed herself to laugh. He was a tough and worthy opponent, but he appeared quite blind to the signs surrounding their courting dance. She would not have been surprised to find that he was unaware that this even was a courting. 

The mech, Ironhide, seemed a decent mech. He was an excellent fighter and sparring partner. 

Chromia smiled to herself as she gave Ironhide one last look. He also had a very cute aft. He was fairly handsome in general but that aft! Mmmm. 

Chromia shook her helm and leapt from the tree she had concealed herself in before slipping through the forest back to the Elvish city. She had great confidence that she would change his thoughts on femmes before too much longer. 

\---------------

The sols passed into decacycles and the pass in the mountains reopened but Ultra and his group stayed. Ultra sent messengers off to the Palace with his instructions to continue as they had for the cold cycle. He trusted Dai Atlas to keep the Senate from growing too fractious and the bureaucracy plodding along.

This thawing cycle had been wonderful. He grew more and more convinced that Orion was the mech for him but he still had to find out if Orion felt the same and if it was possible to move Orion's tree to the Palace when they headed back. He knew Orion needed the tree and could not go too far from it. The walled garden seemed to be his limit without the charm Orion had shown him. 

Ultra headed back up the path that lead to Orion and his creators' home. He had managed to get an oil cake made by one of the village mechs and was eager to servo feed it to Orion who took such delight in sweet things. 

When he arrived he did not see Orion at first but heard a faint sound as though somebot quietly speaking. He followed the sound and found a small area that was partially enclosed by the crystal walls. Inside he found Orion, kneeling before a large blue crystal. As Ultra looked at the crystal he felt his awe grow. The crystal had been carved all over with glyph and images that clearly marked it as an altar to Primus.

Orion reached down, still not apparently seeing Ultra, and placed several crystals on the altar. Ultra jerked in shock at seeing both gold and orange cora as well as unbroken sprigs of lacewing among the offerings. Orion bowed his helm again and the crystal glowed a bright blue before a brilliant flash occurred and the offering on the altar disappeared.

Ultra felt his spark throb hard in joy. Primus favored the mech he was courting! This was a sign for certain. Primus must approve of him courting this mech! 

Ultra waited while Orion finished his prayers. When Orion rose to his peds and turned around he gasped, "Ultra! I didn't know you were there!" 

Ultra smiled and cupped Orion's faceplates, "I am sorry Orion, if I startled you. I did not want to interrupt you when you were praying."

Orion blushed and smiled, "That's alright. I appreciate your patience." 

Ultra gestured to the altar, "May I use your altar?" 

Orion blinked and nodded, "If you wish to. I know my altar isn't as fancy as the ones in the village-" 

Ultra pressed his servo to Orion's lips, "You have one of the loveliest altars I have ever seen Orion. I would be honored to be allowed to use it."

Orion blushed again and looked away. Ultra pressed a kiss to one of Orion's cheeks and then went to the altar. He knelt down before it, admiring how intricately carved it truly was before he prayed. "Primus, I thank you for bringing me to the forest. I see that it was your will that led me here, and lead me to Orion. I ask you to bless my courting of Orion as well as our bonding. Please help me see the way to have Orion with me, and still have him safe along with his tree."

Ultra looked up from whispering his prayer and pulled a cube of high grade out. He poured a portion onto the altar itself and then placed the cube on the altar as well. With a second brilliant flash, the offering disappeared and Ultra felt a warm pulse briefly envelope his frame. 

Primus truly was happy about Orion and he bonding it seemed. 

Ultra stood and walked over to where Orion was waiting. "Now Orion, what would like to do this sol? Has anything exciting happened?" 

Orion smiled and turned around slightly showing off his blossom, "My blossom finished opening all the way! It usually takes a few decacycles to open completely. See, all my petals have unfurled." 

Ultra forced a rev down as he gazed on the beautiful blossom that covered Orion's back down to his perfect pert aft. He hesitantly reached a servo out and lightly touched one of the inner red petals. 

Orion gasped and jerked away from his servo, "Ultra!" Orion gave him a scandalized look, "Did you just touch my blossom?! Papa says I am not allowed to have anyone touch it until I am bonded. It is a 'private area'." 

Ultra smiled and put his servo on Orion's shoulder, "I am sorry. I did not know and your blossom is just so beautiful. I apologize, Orion." 

Orion smiled softly, "I know you didn't realize, Ultra. I forgive you.  Um...don't tell papa, okay?" 

Ultra nodded, he knew better than to tell Orion's creators that he was groping their sparkling.

\----------------------

Prowl fidgeted as he waited for Jazz to meet him at their meeting place in the forest. He could hardly wait to see Jazz again. After that sol a few decacycles ago when Jazz had kissed him Prowl had had to admit that he was coming to love the altmoder mech. Jazz was sweet, funny and kind. In addition, Jazz seemed to genuinely love him which had taken Prowl by surprise.

Prowl heard the snap of a branch breaking and turned to greet Jazz but froze at the sight of a strange mech standing there with a smirk on his faceplates. He did not like this. This was very bad. 

Prowl leapt to the side, only to find himself facing a second strange mech and reared instinctively. He felt something drop over him and he thrashed desperately as he tried to free himself. Had Jazz set him up? 

His thrashing about seemed to do no good as he only tangled himself in the net worse it seemed and a third mech smiled as he walked forward. "We'll get a pretty pile of credits for you, mech. I hear the Magistrate still wants a set of you creatures to pull his carriage. Can't disappoint the mech, now can we?" 

Prowl felt himself tremble at the idea of being forced back to that terrible place and his spark trembled in despair that Jazz had betrayed him so horrifically. 

A startled gasp made Prowl turn his helm and saw one of the two mechs who held the net he was trapped in fall to the ground offline. Prowl gaped at the sight and then saw the cause for it.

Jazz swung an odd weapon at the second mech holding the net and he fell as offline as the first. "Prowler, yah okay? Ah'll have yah out in a klik!" 

The final mech moved closer to Prowl and stood between him and Jazz, Prowl reached out to grab him and help take him out but froze when the barrel of a gun was pointed at him. "Not another move mech, or I put this beast you seem to care for down for good." 

Jazz froze where he was, his entire body language broadcasting rage. Prowl could see Jazz tense as the mech moved closer to him and pulled out a set of restraints and threw them to Jazz. "Since you have incapacitated my mechs, you will bind the beast for me."

Jazz growled, "Ah ain't gonna help yah, yah fragger! Prowl is a free mech! Let him go!" 

The mech laughed, "Your 'Prowl' may have been free, but now he is mine! Don't worry, you can try and buy him back when I have my auction in a few sols."  

Jazz shifted his stance slightly.  Before Prowl could tell what Jazz was doing, he was moving, He leapt at the mech and kicked him right in the helm, sending him flying away from Prowl. Jazz yanked the gun from the mech's startled grasp and pointed it at the mech as he lay sprawled on the ground.

The mech gave Jazz a horrified look, "What are you? Some sort of Ninjabot?" 

Jazz smiled a mirthless smile, "Yeah, actually ah am. In the name of the Magnus, yer under arrest!" With that Jazz flipped the gun around and clubbed the mech in the helm with the butt of the weapon and knocked him out. 

Prowl lay where he was trapped in the net; stunned by what he had just seen. Jazz? A ninjabot? What was going on here?

Jazz slipped the weapon into his subspace and rushed over to where Prowl lay. "Yah okay Prowler? Did they hurt yah? Hang on! Ah'll have yah free in a klik!" 

Prowl watched as Jazz came closer and had the feeling that the truth of the matter was that he knew nothing about the mech he had slowly fallen in love with. Could Jazz really be a ninjabot? Ninjabots were foal tales! No one really believed there were any such things. 

But apparently there were. Apparently one of the mythical mechs was standing before him and giving him a worried look. "Prowler? Sweetspark? Yah worrying meh. Prowl?" 

Prowl looked at Jazz as the net was slowly cut away from him. Once it was removed, Prowl gingerly stood up and moved away from Jazz slightly. 

\----

Jazz tried to control his rage but found it almost impossible. These filthy mechs! They had dared to try and steal Prowl! They had tried to take him away and sell him. Jazz felt his fury rise but stuffed it back down, focusing on cutting Prowl free. Jazz frowned as Prowl moved away from him slightly when he was able to stand. "Prowl? Is somethin' wrong?"

"Stay back!" 

Jazz froze as Prowl moved further away from him. "Prowl, sweetspark? What's-" 

"Is it true!?" 

Jazz carefully kept an optic on the obviously agitated centaur mech. "Is wah true?" 

Prowl seemed to shift nervously, "Is it true! Are you a ninjabot?"

Jazz gave Prowl an uncertain look.  "Yeah, ah am. What's wrong Prowler?" Jazz tried to move closer to Prowl but Prowl reared up threateningly before dropping down and moving back.

"Stay away from me! How do I even know if you are Jazz!? Every mech knows what ninjabots are!" 

Jazz frowned. What? "What exactly does every mech know, Prowl? Ah have no idea what yer talkin' about."

Prowl laughed mirthlessly, "Of course you don't! Every mech knows ninjabots are shape shifters who steal sparklings! You won't get my brother's foal!" 

Jazz felt himself go blank. Say what? "Wait- What?! Yah think we-?" 

Prowl stomped his front left hoof angrily, "No! We /know// what you do! Ninjabots change into bots and steal sparklings! Every mech knows." 

Jazz shook his helm, "Prowl, ah swear ta yah sweetspark. We don't steal sparklin's and we can't turn in ta other bots." Not exactly true but Prowl has no need to know about the few bots who can. 

"LIAR! Of course you say that!" Prowl scowled and reared up before dropping back down and running off into the forest. Jazz scowled darkly and turned towards the three mechs offline on the ground. Slaggin' perfect. So much for his relaxing sol. 

He reached down to gather the remnants of the net and used it to bind two of the mechs and used the restraints that the third mech had brought on him. It suited Jazz's sense of irony. 

He commed Ironhide to help him cart the three mechs back to the village. He could plan how to make up with Prowl while he waited.

\---------------------------------------

Ironhide headed to the clearing where he went to spar each sol with the tenacious femme, holding a small basket as he went. He was nervous as frag about this.

He walked into the clearing and saw that the femme was sitting under one of the metellotrees waiting for him. "Yer early."

The femme looked up at him with a smile, "No old mech, you are late." 

Ironhide had to grin; she had moxie that was for sure. "Ah'm right on time, femme."

Ironhide walked up to the femme and reached into his basket. Before the femme could say anything he shoved them at the femme.

\---

Chromia blinked as she stared at Ironhide who stood there with his servo outstretched to her and filled with... a bouquet of crystal blossoms? Perhaps he had figured out there was more going on than just sparring after all. 

She slowly reached out and took the bouquet from Ironhide's servo. "Why Ironhide! If I didn't know better I would think that you were trying to court me."

Chromia had to stifle a laugh as the rough mech stammered and blushed as he looked away from her. "Ah, well, yer- and well, Ah'm and ah reckon that a, um yah know, a... aw shucks." 

Chromia took pity on the less than eloquent mech by standing up and before Ironhide could move away placed a kiss to the mech's cheek before slipping away. Ironhide stared at where she had been and blushed deeply, his facial armor starting to glow with the heat of it. 

Chromia laughed quietly to herself as she watched Ironhide head back to the village. She admired the bouquet as she headed back into the city.

There was hope for him yet.

\----------------- 

Yoketron sat in the sun and enjoyed how beautiful and tranquil everything was this sol. He came out to visit Hound again and had arrived only to find that Hound's mate, the Elven Lord Mirage was also visiting. The three of them sat outside Hound's cave in the sunlight, sipping a fine vintage of Elysian berry Oil wine while they reminisced and chatted.

The peaceful mood was shattered when a centaur came running up to the cave mouth and skidded to a stop before them. "Lord Hound, Lord Mirage! I bring terrible news!" 

Mirage had stood up, while staring at the panting centaur, "You have news? What has happened?"  

The centaur bowed from the mech portion of his frame, "Lord Mirage, two dark events have occurred. The first event was that I was attacked by three mechs who seemed to have been working for the same mech who captured my brothers and me before."

At that Hound as well as Yoketron stood up as well. Hound's normal kind optics narrowed, "They tried to capture you? Are you alright, Prowl?"

The centaur, Prowl, bowed again, "I took no lasting damage Lord Hound. Yes, they tried to capture me using a large net and three mechs." 

Yoketron looked at the outraged expressions on Mirage and Hound's faceplates before turning back to Prowl. "What was the second event, Prowl?"

Prowl looked at Yoketron, giving a hesitant bow, "The second event was the fact that there is a ninjabot in the forest!"

At those words, Mirage and Hound traded glances with Yoketron before all three laughed out loud. Prowl looked offended by their outburst and they slowly regained control of themselves. 

Hound gave Yoketron an amused look, "I will assume Prowl that based on your words, and your herd believes the stories about Ninjabots are true?"

Prowl suddenly looked confused, "Of course we do. They are true! Aren't they?" 

Mirage answered this time, "No, they are not Prowl. Ninjabots do exist but are not some sort of shape shifting menaces that stalk about stealing sparklings. At least I assume such behavior is frowned upon at your dojo Master Yoketron."

Yoketron laughed, noticing the startled look on Prowl's faceplates. "Of course. None of my students would do such a thing. Well unless the sparkling was in danger or injured, then they would help the poor things. Otherwise, no. No sparkling taking of any kind."

All three of them laughed again and Prowl looked so confused that Yoketron at last took pity on him. "I swear to you, Prowl, in Primus' name that my Ninjabots are not as your myths paint them to be." 

Prowl looked at Yoketron with confusion that slowly bled into embarrassment. He shifted nervously and looked away. "I apologize, my lords. I was mistaken about the ninjabots it seems."

Yoketron reached out and patted one of Prowl's servos, "Think nothing of it! Worse things have been said of Ninjabots before and more than likely will be said again. At least you are willing to admit you have made a mistake. Why don't you run along and go make up with Jazz now?"

At the last, Prowl jerked away from Yoketron a blush burning across his faceplates. "How did you know about Jazz?!" 

Yoketron laughed, "Oh Prowl. First of all, Jazz has been walking around with his helm in the clouds for far too long over you. Second, you said the ninjabot event was after the mechs attacked you. Jazz is the only other Ninjabot other than me currently in the forest." 

Prowl seemed to consider these facts before calming down and nodded his helm. "I understand. Thank you."

Yoketron inclined his own helm, "Think nothing of it. Oh and Prowl? When you see Jazz, tell him to be a bit more careful. You have some of his paint on your flank."  

Prowl threw a look over his shoulder and blushed deeply as he realized that it was true. He dipped a bow to the three mechs and then Prowl made a quick escape back into the forest.

Yoketron shook his helm, "Young mechs these sols, so excitable over nothing."  

\--------------------------------

Wheeljack looked over his notes and slid a portion over to Ratchet. "Here are the sections of herb lore that you were interested in, Ratch'." 

Ratchet took the sheaf of papers and pretended that he had not noticed the way Wheeljack had traced his servos before taking his own back. "Thanks 'Jack. I want to see if the recipe for the balm that old femme I spoke with made is in here." 

Wheeljack thought back as he tried to remember what Ratchet was referring to. "Oh, I remember now! The balm the femme gave you that cleared up the rust infection that poor little sparkling had?" 

"That's the one. I have never seen a rust infection clear up that fast before and she said it is a common remedy here. Now I am curious as to what other miracle cures are hidden here under our optics." 

Wheeljack nodded and turned back to his research, only to look up as Jazz came stomping into the inn. "Jazz? Something wrong? You're not usually back for several more joors."

Jazz gave a cold look at Wheeljack and almost went past him when Jazz seemed to realize something and turned to Wheeljack sharply, "Hey Jack? When yah were doing yer research and all, did yah find any stories 'bout ninjabots like meh?"

Wheeljack thought about for a moment, "I believe I did, wait a few minutes while I look for it." 

Jazz fidgeted as he waited but at last Wheeljack found the section he had been looking for. "Here you go Jazz! There are three myths about Ninjabots, and I am afraid they don't cast your group in a favorable light."

Jazz took the papers and frowned as he studied the file. "These mechs actually believe this stuff?"  

Wheeljack laughed, "Oh yes, they do. Apparently there are stories about you ninjabots that are quite disturbing. Did you know I had no idea all you ninjabots could shape shift? Or ate sparklings? I mean all this time I assumed those cubes you were sipping and the goodies you ate were enough!"

Jazz gave Wheeljack an unamused look, "Ah'm serious 'Jack. Ah... ah met a mech and he found out ah was a ninjabot and he acted like ah had cosmic rust er somethin'."

Wheeljack gave Jazz an understanding and sympathetic look, "Oh, Jazz. I'm sorry. Would this be the mech you have been...ah friends with for the last few decacycles?"

Ratchet smirked, "What he means is this the mech you've been chasing for the last few decacycles? Should we be planning a bonding ceremony? Another one I mean?" 

Jazz looked at Ratchet in confusion, "Another one?" 

Ratchet laughed, "Well Grapple and that Hoist mech are all but bonded now. I wouldn't be surprised to hear they bonded early in fact. We may have more to plan now that I think about it. Ironhide been chasing some bot too, and Ultra keeps disappearing every sol with goodies and not coming back until late." 

Jazz shuttered his optics in surprise, had that many of his companions found mates on this trip? Ultra? Ultra Magnus had found a mech he was apparently courting? Here in the middle of a nowhere village? That poor mech, the palace with all its politics and the back stabbing of the nobility would be a huge culture shock for him. "Really? The Magnus is going courting? With a mech from here? Poor thing will get eaten alive when they get back to the palace."   

Wheeljack and Ratchet both nodded at that, the idea of a simple country mech trying to make sense of the chaos that was the palace was laughable. Wheeljack shook his helm, "Poor thing will never know what hit it. The nobles will pounce worse than scraplets sensing living metal."

Ratchet nodded, "Yes, then we get to deal with an upset Magnus which is never fun." 

Jazz looked over the information that Wheeljack had collected before tossing the papers back to him. "This is nothing but lies and horror stories, Wheeljack. No wonder mechs are scared of Ninjabots here!" 

Ratchet laughed, "That's what you mysterious bots get when no one knows anything about you. You get all kinds of glitched stories popping up worse than virus warnings for a two credit pleasurebot."

Jazz had to give Ratchet a grin at that, "Yah have a way with words, Ratch. Ah'll give yah that." 

Jazz headed up the stairs toward his room. He needed to think.

\--------------------------------

Reflector glared at the mech standing next to his sparkling's tree and was looking at his sapling so possessively. If only Orion had not come around when he had, he could have gotten rid of the pest once and for all. Just like he did all the satyrs that came around. 

They could hardly believe that their Kup had given the filthy mech permission to court their precious sapling. Court? Ha! Lie to more like! Their sweet little Orion believed everything the slick mech said and Reflector was infuriated by it. All three frames let their optics narrow at the interloper as he put his servo on Orion's shoulder. He was far too close to their sapling's blossom. So help them Primus, if he touched it- they would eat him.

However their sol of glaring at the intruder was interrupted by their beloved Kup. Kup gave them a resigned look. "'Flector, Orion is growin' up. He needs ta find somebot of his own."

Reflector hissed at Kup, "Traitor! You just throw our sparking at the first mech who comes along!? How dare you!"

Kup frowned and stepped away from them. "Reflector ah would never 'throw' our bitling at any mech. Ah held the mech at musket point for several sols. What more do yah want from meh?" 

Reflector glared back at Kup, "Besides leaving him in the middle of the forest for the mechawolves to eat? Get rid of him! I want him gone! He will not hurt our sapling if I have to eat him myself." 

Kup gave them a sad look, "Sweetspark, ah know yah don't like tha mech, but Orion does. Ah just want our bitling happy is all." 

With that, Kup walked back into his cabin leaving Reflector's three frames staring at him as he left. If Kup would not help him get rid of the interloper then he would do it themselves. 

\--------------------------------

Slowly it moved through the forest. It could smell the sweet scent that filled the air. It had to be found. It began to correct its' course. It would find the source of the scent and eat it. Only then would it be able to continue. It would find it and eat it, alive and screaming.

\-------------------------------

Prowl shifted nervously. He had waited three sols. Three sols of waiting to see if Jazz would return to their meeting place, but to no avail. Jazz did not return. Prowl felt his spark twinge at the thought that he had hurt his friend that badly with what he had said. He had thought the matter over carefully and had come to the conclusion that he had acted with appallingly bad manners.

Jazz had saved him from the slaver mechs and kept him from being forced back to the horrible pens in that terrible place. Then he had accused the mech who had rescued him of being a monster. Such behavior was unconscionable.

After the third sol, he had come to a decision that he hoped he would not regret. 

If Jazz would not come to him, he would go to Jazz. 

Prowl would be lying to himself if he did not acknowledge the fact that approaching the altmoder village was downright terrifying. His dark memories of his captivity made it seem more malevolent than it could in all probability be. He had originally planned on going into the village itself, but now he found that he was unable to enter the altmoder village. His entire frame had locked up and frozen in fear when he tried to leave the wood line to enter the village proper.

Instead he ended up lurking in the wood line and spent several sols watching the altmoders as they went about their lives. It was a bit amazing how normal they seemed as he watched. There were creators taking walks with their younglings, mechs walking together as well as younglings and sparkling running about playing their little games oblivious to their surroundings.

However, no matter how long that he patiently waited there was not even a glimpse of Jazz.  He had moved his position several times, fearing he might be seen. None of the vantage points showed him what he sought though. His spark sank as he feared that Jazz may have returned to that distant city he had said he came from. The thought of never seeing the mech again filled Prowl with a deep sadness he had never felt before.

Prowl shook his helm and refused to dwell on the matter further. He shifted closer to the edge of the village and kept a sharp optic out for Jazz. He would make this right!

\---------------------

Jazz lay on his berth and stared at the ceiling as he had for the last few sols. He couldn't get the image of Prowl's faceplates as he screamed that Jazz was a monster out of his processor. It hurt, oh Primus did it hurt. He loved Prowl; he was mech enough to admit it to him. The fact that Prowl would never feel the same as him made the pain even worse.

His sensei Master Yoketron had given him amused looks every time he had looked in the last few sols, much like the looks an indulgent creator gave a sparkling that was sulking. The fondness in his sensei's optics made him feel worse than if Master Yoketron had berated him, he felt as though he had let his teacher down.

Jazz sat up and looked around his room. It was in complete disarray, he had thrown items about and not bothered to clean up or put anything away since his sulk had begun. He had barely left this room, now that he thought about it. He had gone down to the inn's taproom and pub for energon but then brought it back up to his room.

He shook his helm; it was time to end this pity party. He was going to clean up this mess, clean himself up in the washracks and then go find Prowl and talk to him. Try to get Prowl to realize that just because Jazz was a ninjabot, it didn't mean that he was bad- or ate sparklings. Primus, he could hardly believe that a mech as smart as Prowl would believe such a story.

A joor later, the room was clean and Jazz was giving himself a nice long turn in the dryers of the washrack. He looked much better now and was almost ready to go find Prowl. 

The sound of screaming from outside made Jazz hop out from under the dryers and race down the stairs. He found the villagers in a panic, mechs and the few femmes running about like crazy.

He grabbed a mech who was leaving his home with a sharp axe, "Hey mech, what's all tha ruckus?" 

The mech looked at Jazz with wide wild optics, "A monster! From the forest! Someone saw it on the edge of the village! Hide your mates! Hide your sparklings!" 

With that the mech wrenched him free and ran off with his axe. Jazz slipped his nunchucks from his subspace and hurried to where the majority of mechs were gathering. He pushed his way through the crowd and gasped at the sight before him. 

Four mechs has thrown ropes around the monster but it was still fighting and struggling as they tried to bring it down. Jazz stared in horror before surging forward and whipping out one of his shuriken and sliced through several of the ropes before moving forward to cut through the remaining ones. Prowl backed away as the ropes fell away from him and he gave Jazz a look that was a mix of fear and relief. 

He turned his back to Prowl and looked out over the crowd and did not like the odds at the moment. The crowd was becoming dangerously close to being a mob and Jazz did not want to have it shift that way. Fortuitously he had back up on the way apparently because Ironhide, who was covered in pale blue paint scuffs, as well as Master Yoketron, Sky Garry, and Wheeljack were rushing over toward him. 

Jazz locked optics with Master Yoketron and did not need to say anything for his sensei to understand what was needed. A slight movement of the servo was all Jazz saw before he and Prowl were enveloped in a cloud of dark smoke. Jazz dashed to Prowl's side and grabbed his arm, "Com' on. mech. Tha smoke'll vanish in a klik and we have ta as well!"

Prowl gaped at him in confusion but followed as he led the centaur mech back towards the forest. Prowl got the idea quickly enough and soon was running next to Jazz as they bolted into the forest. After a few breems, Jazz slowed his run down to a walk and finally stopped. Prowl slowed down as well and cast a sheepish look at Jazz, "Thank you for helping me, Jazz." 

Jazz frowned and turned towards Prowl before moving closer to the nervous centaur mech.  He froze when Prowl quickly moved back and away, his optics wide and frightened. Jazz felt his spark break at the fear he saw in Prowl's optics.

\----------------

Prowl saw Jazz move towards him and felt he flinch away unconsciously. He looked back at Jazz and saw that he had stopped in his tracks. "T-thank you, for helping me escape. I know- I know you didn't have to, and-"

Jazz gave a horrible dark laugh, "Didn't have to? Yes, I did. How sad is that? I know you hate me, but I couldn't stand the idea of you being hurt."

Prowl felt his spark clench at the knowledge that Jazz thought he hated him. He looked down at the ground in shame. "I... I don't hate you, Jazz." 

He felt a soft touch to one of his arms, which he realized he had crossed over his chest, and looked up to see Jazz before him. Jazz smiled at him softly, "I think we both have made some assumptions that seemed to have bitten us on the aft."

Prowl blushed but had to agree, especially since it had been his mistake first. He looked away from Jazz again, shame filled him as he thought of the vile words he had hurled at the mech he had come to feel so strongly for, perhaps even love.

If he had not ruined it with his insults and accusations.

He felt a servo cup his chin and tilt his helm back up. He found himself captured by Jazz's gaze as they locked optics. He could feel his spark begin to pulse faster at the look Jazz was giving him.

Prowl shivered at the gaze and gasped as Jazz gently grasped the back of his helm and drew Prowl down closer to his level. Before Prowl realized quite what Jazz was about, he found himself returning this simple chaste kiss that Jazz gave him. Jazz drew back and Prowl found himself chasing Jazz's lips with his own but was placated with a second smaller kiss before Jazz drew away again laughing.

"I think you missed me, even if it was just a little bit sweetspark."

Prowl blushed at the endearment being addressed at him. He seemed to blush a lot around Jazz it would seem. Oddly, Prowl could not bring himself to mind too much.

\---------------------

Orion leaned against Ultra as he in turn rested his back against Orion's tree. It felt so good to have so much of Ultra's frame against his frame, whether his own or his tree was immaterial. Orion was fairly positive that he had found his ram in Ultra! Ultra was everything he had thought he wanted in his ram as well as so much more.

Now that he had his ram picked out, Orion had to admit to not knowing what came next. How did one go about claiming a ram for oneself? It couldn't be too hard. After all, Papa Kup had been claimed by Papa Reflector.

Perhaps he should ask Cosmos how he claimed the faerie Sunstorm as his ram? 

They had certainly been a surprise for a pair. He suspected that his Papa Reflector had told the faeries and sprites not to tell him how to claim a ram though. His papa thought he was just a sapling still. He was all grown up! He should have his ram, and he wanted Ultra! 

He had just resolved to ask how to claim Ultra for his own ram when a terrible sound filled the air. Turning to see the source of such a horrendous noise he froze in terror at the sight of a strange creature flying over the wall of crystal.

Orion stared at the creature as it came over the wall; it seemed to have no legs, only a thickly scaled tail and a wicked barb at the end. Ultra onlined his optics and gazed up at him in concern but Orion could not say anything, his vocalizer frozen in his fear. 

Ultra looked in the direction that Orion was staring at and leapt to his peds at the sight of the ferocious looking creature. Orion cowered back against his tree and shivered in fear as Ultra drew his fierce hammer from his subspace while crackles of bright blue energy danced along it. 

"Stay back, Orion! Don't let it get near you! I don't know what that is, but it looks dangerous!"

As Orion watched in horror as the Ultra stood between him and the monster, his Papa Reflector came out from their tree and ran towards him. "Orion! Quick, get into your tree!"

Before Papa Reflector's frames had gotten more than halfway to him, the monster slammed into them with its helm and sent them slamming into the crystal wall hard enough that they did not get up. 

Orion whimpered in fear for his papas and shakily got up to go check on them. He looked over at the monster that was growling and snapping at Ultra, but as he moved the creature focused solely on him. Orion froze as the glowing red optics locked onto him and he trembled with fear. 

Before he could move, the monster lunged at him with wide gaping jaws only to be slammed away by Ultra and his glowing hammer.  The monster quickly recovered and hissed sibilantly at Ultra before lunging at the glowing hammer only to be slammed in the face once again. A fat glob of fluid flew from the creature’s mouth and splatted against on the stones of the path and began to sizzle and eat away the stone like strong acid.

Orion gasped and moved away from whatever that fluid was in a hurry. Ultra continued to slam the hammer into the creature over and over, and while it was thus occupied Orion hurried to his papas’ frames where they lay collapsed by the wall.

He moved them so they were no longer jumbled together and was relieved to find them all still functioning, even though Papa Spectro and Papa Spyglass had what appeared to be broken struts in their arms. Papa Viewfinder seemed to be okay aside from a crack on his helm. They were all in stasis at the moment but otherwise seemed to be intact. 'Thank Primus for his mercies!'

Just as Orion thought that a loud roar had him jerking his helm up and staring in horror at the creature barreling past Ultra and charging right at him. Orion threw himself to the side and flinched as the monster slid past him destroying the collection of sweet crystals that had been in that section.

As he got up to run, he heard Ultra scream, "Watch out!" Before he could react he felt searing pain tear through his frame as something, several somethings plunged into his shoulder. He felt his peds lift off the ground as he was yanked up by the things in his shoulder only to fall back to the ground as the things tore through his plating. 

Orion felt his processor swimming in pain and the world seemed to turn on its side and blur. He felt detached from his frame as he saw Ultra charge the monster that was looming over him and swinging his hammer that had turned a brilliant shimmering spark blue that matched the unusual color of Ultra's optics at that moment. Orion absently wondered how he had never noticed Ultra's optics glow like that as he watched Ultra swing the hammer hard enough that the helm of the monster cracked and a bright plume of fluids spurted up in the air before the monster collapsed with a few final twitches, the glowing hammer embedded in its helm.

Orion saw Ultra rushing towards him before the world went dark and he slipped away.

\--------------------------------------------------

Ultra rushed away from the twitching corpse of whatever the creature was that had attacked over to where Orion lay limp and unmoving, his optics dim and barely glowing. He carefully lifted Orion into his arms and was frightened by how very cold his frame had become. "Orion? Orion! Please wake up!"

He heard the sound of things falling to the ground and looked up see Kup staring in horror at the sight of the damaged garden, and his injured family, logs scattered around him. "What tha frag happened!?"

Ultra went back to checking on Orion, "There was an attack. I have no idea what that thing is, but it came over the wall and began trying to attack Orion."

Kup moved towards Ultra and Orion, only to freeze and changed direction towards his fallen bondmates. "’Flector! ’Flector! Can yah hear meh? 'Flector!" 

A low groan followed by two others informed Ultra that Orion's creator was alright as he continued to try and get a response from Orion himself. Orion had grown colder still, and his wound leaked sluggishly an ugly black fluid draining out to hiss onto the stones of the path.

"Orion, can you hear me? Please, sweetspark, answer me!" Orion moved slightly in his arms and moaned in pain. Ultra felt his spark begin to pulse again as he rejoiced that Orion was still alive. He gently stood, cradling Orion to him with the utmost of care before lowering him softly to the ground before his tree. To Ultra's dismay, Orion didn't merge back into his tree though. He merely leaned against it as he weakly moaned in pain.

Kup came up beside Ultra, Supporting one of his bonded's frames while the other two hurried over while clutching an arm each. Two frames of Orion's ...carrier knelt beside him and with their good arms, lightly touched their moaning sparkling before looking at Ultra. "What happened? Did the wyvern hit him too?" 

Ultra shook his helm, "No, it bit him and managed to shake him a bit before I got him free." 

All three frames as well as Kup gasped in horror. Kup growled from behind him, "Yah let my sparklin' get /bit// by a wyvern? What kinda mech are yah!?"

 Ultra looked at the horrified faces in confusion, "A wyvern? Is that what that thing was? What is wrong? I know he is hurt but you are acting like there is more to this than a bite!" 

 Kup growled again, "Ignorant city mech! Wyvern bites are poisoned! Any mech knows that!" 

Ultra stared at Kup in horror, "P-poisoned?!" Ultra looked at Orion and how weak he had become. "Watch over him, I will go and fetch a medic! He will know what to do!"

Ultra ran through the maze and out into the forest, transforming and plowing through the woods at a fast pace. He took down several trees as he drove but made it back to the village in record time. Changing back to bot mode, Ultra ran into the inn, and charged up the stairs to where Ratchet's room was. He barged into the room without bothering to knock and grabbed Ratchet by the wrist. 

"Come with me, it's an emergency." Ultra dragged Ratchet out of the room and down the stairs before the stunned medic could process what was going on.

"Wait a klik, Ultra! Let go!" Ratchet wrenched away from Ultra when they landed at the base of the stairs. "What is going on?! What is the emergency?! Frag it Ultra! What has gotten into you?"

Ultra grabbed Ratchet, carrying him out the door and then magnetizing him to his vehicle form once he transformed outside. Ultra took off back along the trail of destruction he had created en-route from the garden and soon reached the outside of the maze. 

Ratchet jerked away from Ultra as soon as they stopped and Ultra released the magnetization. "Ultra! What is the matter with you? Have you glitched?"

Ultra went to grab Ratchet but the medic shifted away, "I'm not going anywhere until you explain what the frag is going on, why the frag you dragged out to the middle of Primus forsaken nowhere and what the fragging emergency is!" 

Ultra however was having none of it. Ultra grabbed Ratchet and flung him over his shoulder and headed through the maze. Once they were through, Ultra headed straight for Orion's tree and dropped Ratchet roughly to the ground. "Save him, Ratchet!" 

Ratchet glared up at Ultra before he looked at what Ultra was pointing at. He gasped at the sight of Orion lying against a tree with a horrible wound in his shoulder. Ratchet hurried over and hissed as a he touched the fluids leaking from the wound. "What the frag happened to him, Ultra?!"

Ultra moved to the other side of Orion and moved his helm to his shoulder, taking a limp servo in his larger one. "Kup said it was a wyvern and that the bite is apparently poisoned." 

Ratchet reached into his subspace and pulled out a large medkit. "I have no idea what the frag a wyvern is, but hopefully a general anti-toxin will help with the poison. If not I may have to try a more invasive process to filter his energon."

Kup moved closer to his injured sparkling, his bondeds nowhere in sight and most likely in their evil tree. "He ain't got energon. He's got sap." 

Ratchet gave Kup a confused look but turned back to Orion quickly, pulling a large injector from the medkit and plunging it into his good arm before turning to the open wound and examining it carefully. Ratchet pulled a bottle of cleansing fluid out and grabbed a roll of medical gauze, ripping a length free, he began to lightly clean the wound. The black liquid spilling from the wound hissed at it came in contact with the cleanser soaked gauze, but Ratchet kept cleaning the wound until at last it was clear. Ratchet frowned as Orion remained unresponsive, "It does seem to be slowing the poison but it doesn't seem to have cleared all of it out. I'll have to filter his energon."

Kup huffed from behind Ratchet, "Daft doc-bot! Ah already told yah he ain't got energon! He's got sap!"  

Ratchet gave Kup a condescending look, "He is a mech, and mechs have energon." Ratchet pulled an elaborate series of tubes and fluid bags along with a needle. Ratchet slipped the needle into a fuel line and let the small filter attached began to filter ....the odd fluid that was most definitely not energon, and remove the poison into the attached bag.

"What the frag is this stuff? This is no energon that I have ever seen before."

Kup glared at Ratchet, "Ah told yah he ain't got energon! That's sap! Like his tree gots."

Ratchet gave Ultra a flat look, "Sap? Tree? Ultra what-" 

Ultra sighed, "Ratchet, he is a dryad. He is a tree spirit. I know it sounds crazy, but that is what he is. I tried to put him in his tree but he is too injured to merge with it." 

Ratchet gave Ultra a long searching look before sighing, "Great. A dryad. You have been mooning over a mythical creature for the better part of our time here." 

Ultra tried to protest but stopped, finally just saying, "Not mooning, Ratchet. I love him. I want to bond to him. He is perfect."

Ratchet snorted, "Except for the whole part about tied to a tree, you mean."

Ultra looked determined, "I will find a way. If I have to ask Primus to intervene to do so."

Ratchet gave Ultra a searching look before smiling, "Good. It is about time you found someone to love." 

Ulltra put a servo on Ratchet's shoulder, "Thank you, old friend. That means a lot. How is Orion doing?" 

Ratchet frowned, "Not good, the poison is no longer spreading but it is still there. I need a way to neutralize the toxin."  

"You will need silver cora crystals. It is the only thing that neutralizes wyvern poison."

Ultra looked up and saw Orion's dryad creators heading toward them. "Where do I find this silver cora? I have never heard of it." 

The two frames that had broken arm struts shook their helms, "It is no wonder. Only the elves are able to grow it. Even Orion hasn't been able to get some seeds from them."  

Ratchet laughed, "Elves? You expect me to believe there are elves now? Did you two hit your helm like your brother did? Get over here and I will fix your arms and his helm damage."

The two of them gave Ratchet a flat look, "We will rejoin our tree and heal. The elves have the crystals you need to neutralize the poison. Ask your large red friend who likes to fight. The trees say he has been meeting an elven warrior every sol for decacycles." 

With that, the two gently took their third frame and merged back into their tree before Ratchet's disbelieving optics. "By the Allspark! He is a dryad!"

Kup gave Ratchet a flat look, "Ah told yah that! Mah sparklin' and mah bonded are dryads yah daft mech! Now go and get mah sparklin' those crystals!"

Ultra gave Kup a determined look, "I intend to. I assume your bonded meant Ironhide when he said my large red friend? He must have."

Ultra headed out of the maze and transformed back into his vehicle mode, following the path of destruction he had made when he charged towards the village to find Ratchet. Once he arrived in the village, he transformed back into his mech form and headed back into the inn.

As soon as he stepped into the inn, he stumbled back as Ironhide slammed into him from the other side. "Ultra! Primus! I am sorry! Are you alright?" 

Ultra carefully got onto his peds, "Actually Ironhide, I need to speak with you. I need to meet the friend you have been meeting the last few sols. I have a question for them and not much time." 

Ironhide froze at the mention of his friend. "My, my friend, Magnus?" 

"You are not in trouble, Ironhide, but I must speak with them. A life is in the balance!" 

Ironhide seemed to calm down, "Very well, follow me." 

\---

It seemed to take quite a while to get to the clearing Ironhide lead him to, but Ultra knew that it had most likely not been very long at all. There appeared to be no one in the clearing but Ironhide headed straight for a tree near the center. "Chromia! Ah need yer help! Please? Help us!"

Ultra managed to not reveal his surprise when a blue femme appeared from the shadows, "What is it that you need of me?"

"Chromia, do you know of any place in your city where silver cora grows? One who is most dear to me was bitten by a vile creature and I am told that only silver cora can save him." 

The femme gave Ultra a searching look, "No silver cora grows within our city anymore." 

Ultra felt his spark break at those words. There was no hope then. Orion would die. He had failed. 

A slim servo touched his shoulder, "Do not lose hope so easily, altmoder. There is still one place where silver cora grows. However it is very dangerous and risky." 

Ultra looked at the femme with dawning hope in his spark, "Where is it? I don't care how dangerous it is! I must save him!" 

The femme smiled knowingly, "The only place silver cora grows anymore is the place where it was created. In the ruins of Silver City. It was lost beneath the forest long ago after the great wars." 

"How do I find this Silver City? I must have the cora quickly or he will die!" 

"You travel north, to the great mountain. Enter the cave on the eastern face of the mountain and follow it. Silver City lies within the mountain. The crystal you seek grows only within the throne room of the Silver Palace. Be warned though! Although the war is long past, sentinels still remain as do their enemies. Do not let the wraiths catch you, they exist only to kill now."

Ultra bowed to the femme, "When I return, you may ask of me whatever you wish and I will give it to you! Thank you, Lady Chromia!"

\------------------

Ultra and Ironhide had traveled for nearly three joors when the sound of crashing through the underbrush made them tense and go back to back in a defensive posture. Through the underbrush, he was surprised to see Jazz slide out silently followed by three strange mechs. 

It took Ultra a moment to place what they were- centaur mechs.

One centaur was a dark red, one a bright gold and then final one was black and white in a similar pattern as Jazz' but in reverse along with a bright red chevron. "Jazz? What are you doing out here? Who are your friends?"

Jazz grinned, "This here is Prowler and these two-"

The red mech stomped a hoofed ped, "I'm Sideswipe that is Sunstreaker. You are here to help Orion right? We owe him so we came to help."

Ultra blinked in surprise, Orion was well beloved to many beside him. It was not so surprising when he thought about it; Orion was a generous and very sweet mech. He tried to help everyone that he could, and would give freely of his gardens and flock. "Thank you for your help. Do you where this 'Silver City' is? Chromia could only give directions and a guide would allow us to go faster.”

Prowl shifted uneasily. “I do. All herd leaders are taught so we know to stay away from it and the wraiths that haunt it.”

Ironhide gave them a skeptical look, “Wraiths? What, you mean like spark-ghosts?”

Sunstreaker gave a bitter laugh, “Spark-ghosts are harmless, and wraiths will gut you. Big difference.”

Sideswipe stepped forward, “We all learned the stories as colts. There used to be two large kingdoms in the forest, Silver city ruled one and the other was ruled by Steel haven. Steel haven was ruled by a cruel and fierce people, who hated everyone else who lived in the great forest. Silver city lived in peace with all the different kinds of people who lived in the great forest.”

Prowl nodded, “Steel haven and Silver City became locked in a war. Both cities were destroyed. The wraiths of the warriors from Steel haven lurk the forest slaughtering mechs at random. We have another issue, the wraiths in Silver city are from warriors who died protecting their homes and they let no one in.”

“They will let us in.” Ultra shifted angrily. “Which way do we go?”

Prowl exchanged a look with the two other centaur mechs. “Would you two be willing? It would be the fastest way.”

Sideswipe frowned but nodded. Sunstreaker scowled and glared at both Ultra and Ironhide. “Do not expect this to ever happen again, and you tell anyone about this and I will stop out your sparks!”

Ultra and Ironhide looked confused, as did Jazz. “What are you-?”

Prowl turned and tucked his wings tight to his back before grabbing jazz and yanking him onto his back. Jazz gave an undignified squawk and he grabbed onto Prowl’s shoulders instinctively. “Prowler? Are yah sure? Ah know yah-“

“I would not agree to have anyone else, but for you I will allow it.”

Ironhide and Ultra looked at Sideswipe and Sunstreaker uneasily. “I suppose that the idea is-?”

Sideswipe sighed, “Get on, and be grateful. We are only doing this because we owe Orion so much.”

Sunstreaker scowled and stamped uneasily. “Let’s get this over with, we need to go and check on Bluestreak and Silverstreak.”

Ultra looked confused, before Jazz answered, “Blue is their bonded and Silverstreak is their bitty, Ultra. Adorable little mech, looks just like his carrier and just as sweet.”

Ultra gingerly climbed onto Sunstreaker and Sideswipe grunted as Ironhide did the same. “Alright, lead the way Prowl.”

The three centaur mechs charged through the forest at a rate that left Ultra and Ironhide in awe of their speed. They were far faster than any slepneir that had ever been tamed. The forest flew by in a blur, and they were drawing closer to the mountain. The centaur mechs slowed as they reached the mountain, where the faint path became a steep and slippery path fit for nothing but wild gyro-goats.

“Get off, everyone walks from here on. The paths are too slippery for passengers.” Sunstreaker glared at Ultra over his shoulder until he had dismounted. Ironhide and Jazz had done the same by the time Ultra was back on his peds as well.

Prowl stepped forward, “Follow me, we have to take the trail up to the cave that lies halfway up the mountain. That is the entrance to Silver City.”

They began to walk up the hill towards where this cave was supposed to be, but all Ultra could think about how Orion was doing. His beloved had been so weak, and he feared that their quest would be for not if Orion offlined before they were able to return with the silver crystal.

He would not let that happen! He would save Orion! He loved him so much that the very thought of losing Orion made his spark ache. He would not let Orion down, he couldn’t fail him.

Ultra looked at the trail and how wide it was. It might be too slippery for the centaur mech’s hooves, but not for his tires, or Ironhide's. Ultra looked at Ironhide, “I have an idea. You three carried us this far, now it is our turn. Ironhide, Jazz, transform to your altmodes.”

Jazz laughed, “Great idea, boss mech!”

The centaur mechs exchanges confused looks that shifted to startled looks of surprise as the three turned into their altmodes. Ultra rumbled his engine, “Hop in, we have no time to waste! Orion is counting on us!”

The centaur mechs looked uneasy about the idea but gingerly both the twins climbed into the bed of Ultra’s altmode while Prowl stepped daintily into the bed of Ironhide’s. They roared up the slippery slope, their tire biting deeply into the group and small trees getting crushed beneath them.

There were signs of the trail having been larger than it was currently and Ultra saw fragments of paving stones and even small stretches where the weathered stones still lay exposed. It was remarkable and had to be a sign that they were getting close!

The large opening of a cave loomed further of the mountain and as they made progress towards it, the sheer size of it filled Ultra with awe. The opening of the ‘cave’ was nothing of the sort, or at least was no longer just a cave opening. Skilled crafts-mechs had carved and shaped the entrance into a great archway covered in mosaics and tile reliefs. It was beautiful.

There were scenes of all kinds, from daily life with farmers, woodcutters, to soldiers and the royal court. What was most remarkable was the fact that there were mechs of all kinds in the images. Centaurs, Satyrs, Harpies, Dryads, Gnomes, Leprechauns, more types of mechs than Ultra could name. So it was true, this had been a city of peace and equality. It was a great shame it had fallen.

Stopping before the great archway, the three mechs waited for the centaurs to step out of the truck beds before they transformed. “This is the entrance to Silver City then, I take it Prowl?”

“It is. We must be careful. The wraiths will not be pleased if they catch us here in their home.”

Ultra nodded, summoning his hammer to his servo while Ironhide and Jazz brought out their weapons as well. “I understand. We will be as cautious as possible, but we need to move quickly. Orion doesn’t have much time to waste. Where is the palace? We were told the silver cora grows in the throne room.”

“It does. I have a general idea of where the palace is, but I am not certain where the throne room is within it. We will have to search the palace until we find it.”

Ultra frowned, he had hoped to have a clue at least of where in the palace the throne room would be. “Very well. Let’s hurry. We are running out of time.”

“Indeed, wyvern venom is some of the foulest stuff ever created.”

As they entered the city proper, Ultra gasped in shocked and looked around in bewilderment. “How long did you say that the city had been abandoned for?”

Prowl looked around with awe filled optics. “For so long that even the oldest of the dryads barely remember the city when it lived.”

All around them was a beautiful city, that looked as pristine as the sol that it had fallen. There was no dust, no wind-blown debris to litter the streets. To Ultra Magnus’ optics, this was a city that would have rivaled that of his own capitol and was still far cleaner than it. “The mechs who lived here must have loved it very much to have used the magic it must have taken to keep their city so well kept after all these eons.”

Sunstreaker gave a small smile, “This used to be known as the City of Art; the city of song. Oh yes, they loved their city.”

Sideswipe put an arm around his brother, “Sunny would live here if it were possible. The Elves buy his work, but won’t let him live in their city. Elves only.”

Ultra looked at the golden centaur-mech in surprise. “You are an artist? May I ask what you do?”

Sunstreaker looked away, one hoof stamping the ground. “Sculpting mostly. Some paintings when I can. Paint doesn’t last long in the forest.”

Sideswipe reached over and put a servo on his shoulder. “Sunnty is one of the best artists ever! He does the most amazing art!”

Ultra rumbled thoughtfully. “Is that so? I would like to commission something from you when this is finished. Something for Orion.”

Sunstreaker paused before nodding, “Really? No alt-moder has ever been interested. If you like, I can try to make something for you.”

Sideswipe smirked, “See, Sunny? Getting famous already! Wait until I tell Bluestreak and Silverstreak about this!” His faceplates softened when he said his mate’s name as well as that of their small foal.

Jazz revved his engine. He would love to meet the mech who had tamed these two as well as meet Prowl’s family, but that would have to wait. They had a mech to save first!


End file.
